Meditations for Lent 2021

April 7, 2021
Published in Other news items

The preached reflections for Lent 2021 took place at the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall (for allowing proper distance between listeners) on Fridays at 9:00AM from February 26 to March 26 in the presence of the Holy Father. Cardinals, archbishops, bishops, members of the Papal Household, employees of the Roman Curia, the governorate and vicariate of Rome, the superiors general or the procurators of religious orders belonging to the Pontifical Chapel were invited to participate.

Theme of the Meditations

“Who do you say that I am?”
(Matthew 16:15)

The Christological Dogma, Source of Light and Inspiration

The world and the media speak of the church "etsi Christus non daretur", as if Christ did not exist. They’re concerned more about its history, organization, perspectives on current issues, information (more often hearsay) on the inside.

While facing these concerns - and quite understandably – as we respond to the needs and challenges of the Church in the world, even we believers run the risk of behaving "etsi Christus non daretur", as if we could speak of the Church without taking into account Christ and his Gospel.

Certainly, it is true that Jesus is consistently spoken of among believers within the Church, but also with so many other things.

Here, for once, we are trying to speak only of Him, as if He alone existed and it would be worthwhile to be occupied solely with Him (who is, after all, the truth!).

After a reflection of general introduction to Lent, we meditate on Jesus as "true man", "true God" and yet "one person".

The classic path of Church dogma is being followed, where we try to grasp, each time, its perennially current spirit and its vital importance for the spiritual life of the Christian.

Cardinal Raniero Cantalamessa OFMCap, Preacher of the Papal Household

All of the reflections were given in Italian and recorded by Vatican Radio; links to YouTube videos are provided below where you can watch and listen to the meditations.

Thanks to our brother preacher’s kindness, we are also able to provide for you texts of the meditations both in Italian and in other translations provided by him.

Videos

Download the Texts – Meditations for Lent 2021