World must recover a sense of sin, Pope tells Sunday audience
March 14, 2011
During Lent—which is “a spiritual itinerary of preparation for Easter”—Christians should be keenly aware of the costs of sin, Pope Benedict XVI told his midday audience on Sunday, March 13.
During Lent the faithful make a journey toward the Cross, the Pope explained to the crowd in St. Peter’s Square. Along that path, he said, we contemplate our own role in the Crucifixion. The Holy Father continued:
Why the Cross? The answer is, in radical terms this: Because evil exists, sin, which according to Scripture is the profound cause of all evil.
In today’s world, the Pope remarked, the very concept of sin is unpopular:
Many people do not accept the very word 'sin' because it presupposes a religious vision of the world and of man; and indeed it is true that if we eliminate God from the horizon of the world we can no longer speak of sin.
Thus the discipline of Lent should help the faithful to recover a strong sense of sin, and understand God’s work in saving us from that sin. Lenten penitence, the Pope said, “means always siding with Christ against sin, facing--as individuals and as Church--the spiritual struggle against the spirit of evil.”
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Posted by: lauriem5377 -
Mar. 15, 2011 11:38 AM ET USA
I will pray every day during Lent that each one of us will heed Our Holy Father's call. I also pray that our church leaders - cardinals, bishops, priests - will openly side with Christ in ALL matters - including those matters which are pro-life.
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Posted by: sparch -
Mar. 15, 2011 9:45 AM ET USA
No only have we lost our sense of sin, but we have lost our sense of shame that follows. It amazes me how long it now takes me to even recognize sin, let alone acknowledge the sin is mine.
