Devotions from February 28 to March 6, 2022
This week, with Ash Wednesday, Lent begins, a special time, always to be rediscovered and lived to the fullest.
“This year’s Lent brings with it many hopes alongside the suffering still associated with the pandemic that all humanity has now been experiencing for more than two years. For us Christians, however, these forty days are not so much an opportunity to identify problems as an opportunity to prepare ourselves to live the paschal mystery of Jesus, who died and rose again. These are days in which we can convert to a way of being in the world as people already risen with Christ (cf. Col 3:1). The Church as a community and the individual believer have the opportunity to make this time a ‘full time’ (cf. Gal 4:4), that is, ready for a personal encounter with Jesus.
This message, then, reaches you as an invitation to a threefold conversion, urgent and important at this stage of history, particularly for the Churches in Italy: conversion to listening, to reality, and to spirituality” (From the message of the presidency of the Italian Bishops’ Conference for Lent 2022).
TUESDAY, MARCH 1
Beginning of the Sacred Mantle
The month of March is traditionally dedicated to Saint Joseph. How, then, could we fail to take this opportunity to get to know this great Saint more closely?
Another beautiful custom during the month of March is to recite the Sacred Mantle every day, beginning on March 1, for thirty consecutive days, in honor of Saint Joseph, in memory of the thirty years he lived in the company of Jesus Christ. The Sacred Mantle is a special prayer through which we honor Saint Joseph and ask him to place us under the mantle of his protection.
The graces obtained from God by turning to Saint Joseph are countless. And Saint Teresa of Ávila, speaking of the graces obtained through Saint Joseph, stated: “Those who do not believe should put it to the test, so that they may be convinced.”
For further reading:
• Prayers to Saint Joseph
• In Honor of Saint Joseph. Novena, Sacred Mantle, Sorrows and Joys
• Saint Joseph. Religious Fact and Theology
• Anthology from the life of Saint Joseph
You might also be interested in other articles on Saint Joseph
TUESDAY, MARCH 1
Holy Face of Jesus
On the Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday, the memorial of the Holy Face is celebrated. On this day, let us allow ourselves to be illumined by the splendor of Christ’s face, the face of him who, out of love and love alone, sacrificed himself for the salvation of humanity. That face mentioned in the Gospel, which “some Greeks” (Jn 12:28) wished to see; that face which, during the days of the Passion, we will contemplate disfigured because of the sins, indifference, and ingratitude of humanity; that radiant face, shining with light and resplendent with glory, which will shine at dawn on Easter Sunday.
Let us keep our hearts and minds fixed on the face of Christ and allow ourselves to be won over by his ardent love, so that, transformed by contemplating the face of Jesus, we may become his visible face to the people of today.
For further reading:
• Devotion to the Holy Face of Jesus
You might also be interested in other articles on the Holy Face of Jesus
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2
Ash Wednesday
Today begins the season of Lent, during which the Church, to intensify the life of the spirit, proposes specific commitments to the faithful: more assiduous listening to the Word of God, more intense prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Lent is the pre-eminent penitential season; therefore, it is essential to prepare to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation. It allows us to experience the Father’s embrace and mercy, which heals the wounds of sin and restores the heart with peace. Saint Anthony of Padua repeats to us the invitation he addressed to the crowds during Lent: “At last, here is the season of Lent; in it the grace of contrition is prepared, now standing spiritually at the door and knocking; if you wish to open it and welcome it, it will dine with you and you with it.” Let us trust in the Saint’s wisdom and once again, for this Easter, open the doors to Christ.
For further reading:
• Stations of the Cross. The most precious gift
• Via Caritatis. Stations of the Cross with Blessed Carlo Acutis
• Stations of the Cross. Prayer and meditation proposals for everyone
• Night of passion, night of passions
• From Lent to Easter
• Let Us Adore the Most Blessed Sacrament. Vol. 2. Prayers for Lent
• Healing and liberation through fasting
• No one has greater love than this
You might also be interested in other articles for Lent
THURSDAY, MARCH 3
First day of the novena to Saint Luigi Orione
“‘Men who have devoted their lives to the name of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Acts 15:26). These words from the Acts of the Apostles can well be applied to Saint Luigi Orione, a man totally devoted to the cause of Christ and his Kingdom. Physical and moral suffering, hardships, difficulties, misunderstandings, and obstacles of every kind marked his apostolic ministry. ‘Christ, the Church, souls – he used to say – are loved and served on the cross and as those crucified, or they are not loved and served at all’ (Writings, 68,81)” (John Paul II).
Let us confidently invoke the intercession of Saint Luigi Orione.
For further reading:
• Don Orione. Giving one’s life while singing of love
You might also be interested in:
• Holy card of Saint Luigi Orione. On the back: “Prayer to Don Orione”
“In this time of conversion, finding support in God’s grace and in the communion of the Church, let us never tire of sowing goodness. Fasting prepares the soil, prayer irrigates it, and charity makes it fruitful” (Pope Francis, Message for Lent 2022).
Have a blessed Lenten journey!
