The “countercultural” repentance preached by the Pope

- Courtney Mares, Rome, OSV News

At the Ash Wednesday penitential procession, priests, bishops, cardinals and the Pope sang the Litany of the Saints as the procession moved from the Benedictine Basilica of St. Anselm to the ancient Dominican Basilica of Santa Sabina. There, Leo XIV offered the Ash Wednesday Mass, and spoke of “counter-cultural” repentance.

“It's rare to find adults who have regrets.”

“How rare it is to find repentant adults, individuals, companies and institutions that admit they have acted wrongly,” Pope Leo said in his homily in the Basilica of Santa Sabina.

In fact, during Lent a people is formed who recognize their sins. These sins are evils that do not come from supposed enemies, but that afflict our hearts and exist in us. We need to respond by courageously taking responsibility for them," he added.

Pope Leo acknowledged that “this attitude is countercultural,” but “it constitutes an authentic, honest and attractive option, especially in our times, when it is so easy to feel powerless in the face of a world in flames.”.

“Embracing the missionary meaning of Lent.”

In his homily, the Pope pointed to young people as an unexpected sign of openness today.

Even in secularized contexts, many young people, more than before, are open to the invitation of Ash Wednesday," Pope Leo observed. Young people, in particular, clearly understand that it is possible to live a just lifestyle and that there must be accountability for wrongdoing in the Church and in the world.

He invited the faithful to “embrace the missionary meaning of Lent,” not as a distraction from personal conversion, but “in a way that introduces this season to the many restless people of good will who are seeking authentic ways to renew their lives, in the context of the Kingdom of God and his justice.”.

Italian custom of ashes

Pope Leo received ashes scattered on his head according to Italian custom, before imposing them on the cardinals and some of the faithful present.

“We perceive in the ashes imposed on us the weight of a world in flames, of entire cities destroyed by war,” he said.

“This is also reflected in the ashes of international law and of justice among peoples, in the ashes of entire ecosystems and of harmony among peoples, in the ashes of critical thinking and of ancient local wisdom, in the ashes of that sense of the sacred that dwells in every creature,” Pope Leo added.

Closing of Vatican II 60 years ago 

The Pope recalled that 60 years ago, on the Ash Wednesday following the closing of the Vatican Council II, St. Paul VI had warned about the “fundamental pessimism” of the modern world and its tendency to proclaim “’the inevitable vanity of everything, the immense sadness of life, the metaphysics of the absurd and of nothingness’”. 

“Today we can recognize that his words were prophetic,” Pope Leo added.

The Pope also reflected on the importance of the tradition of the Lenten Season, in which pilgrims pray at the tombs of Rome's first Christian martyrs. The Basilica of Santa Sabina, where Pope Leo officiated at Mass, is the first church of the Roman Station pilgrimage. The basilica dates back to 422 AD.

Ancient and contemporary martyrs

“The ancient and contemporary martyrs shine as pioneers on our path to Easter,” he said. “The ancient Roman tradition of the Lenten stations - which begins today with the first station - is instructive: it refers both to journeying, as pilgrims, and to pausing, statio, in the memories of the martyrs, over which the basilicas of Rome stand.”.

“Might this not perhaps be an invitation to follow in the footsteps of the admirable witnesses to the faith that are found today throughout the world?” he added.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the 40-day Lent, during which Christians are called to prayer, fasting and works of charity. Lent concludes with the Easter Triduum.

‘Sign and testimony of the Resurrection’.’

We acknowledge our sins in order to be converted; this in itself is a sign and witness of the Resurrection. In fact, it means that we will not remain among the ashes, but will rise and rebuild, Pope Leo said.

Then the Easter Triduum, which we will celebrate as the summit of the Lenten journey, will unfold all its beauty and meaning. This will happen if we participate, through penance, in the passage from death to life, from impotence to God's possibilities.

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- Courtney Mares is Vatican editor for OSV News. Follow her at @catholicourtney.