Vatican City, Feb 24, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Pope John Paul II began Lent this morning calling on Catholics to live this season as “a journey of prayer, penitence and authentic Christian asceticism.”
The Holy Father presided over a celebration of the word for Ash Wednesday in the Vatican Basilica during which ashes were blessed and distributed.
In his homily, John Paul II affirmed that “external gestures of penitence have value if they express an interior attitude, if they express the firm will to avoid evil and to take up the just path. It is here that the profound meaning of Christian asceticism lies.”
“‘Asceticism’: the word itself evokes an image of rising up toward higher goals. This necessarily involves sacrifice and self-denial. In order to become authentic disciples of Christ, it is necessary to deny oneself, take up the cross every day and follow Him. It is the arduous path of holiness which every baptized person is called to take,” he explained.