Fragility and hope: papal homily for Ash Wednesday Mass (Vatican Press Office)

At the Ash Wednesday Mass in the Basilica of Santa Sabina in Rome. Cardinal Angelo De Donatis, the major penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary, presided in the Pope’s place and read aloud the Pope’s homily.

“The Lenten journey towards Easter unfolds amidst the remembrance of our fragility and the hope that, at the end of the road, the Risen Lord is waiting for us,” Pope Francis wrote in his homily. “Despite the masks we wear and the cleverly crafted ploys meant to distract us, the ashes remind us of who we are.”

“The ashes remind us of the hope to which we are called in Jesus, the Son of God, who has taken upon himself the dust of the earth and raised it to the heights of heaven,” the Pope continued. “With this hope in our hearts, let us begin our journey. Let us be reconciled with God.”