Insight on Lent from Pope St Leo the Great

One of the offices of the Church is that of the Office of Readings which involves the praying of psalms, as which the other hours of prayer, however, it concludes with two readings. The first is from Scripture, outside of the Gospels, with the second coming from the Church Fathers, spiritual writers, lives of the saints, the popes and Church Councils, especially Vatican II. The second readings are rich source of doctrine and provide the classic texts which are the earliest articulation of the Church's teaching. This second reading, taken from Sermon 6 on Lent by Pope St Leo the Great (reigned 440-461), for the Office of Readings on Thursday after Ash Wednesday, struck me as being particularly apt for the season. Since many readers of this blog would not have access to the Office of Readings I have thought to share a little of what Pope St Leo wrote with you:

The special feature of Easter is that it is the occasion when the whole of the Church rejoices over the forgiveness of sin. This forgiveness takes place, not only in the case of those who are freshly reborn through baptism, but also in the case of us others who for some time have been counted among God's adopted children.

Certainly it is true  that the water of rebirth initially brings about our new life of grace, but for us all it remains necessary to struggle every day against the rust of our earthly nature. Whatever steps forward we make, there is not one of us who is not bound to do better. All of us must strive hard and so on Easter day no one should remain bound by the vices of his former nature.

An so dearly beloved, what every Christian should always be doing must now be performed  more earnestly and devoutly. These forty days, instituted by the apostles, should be given over to fasting which means, not simply a reduction in food, but the elimination of our evil habits.

To these sensible and holy fasts we should link alms-giving which under the one name of mercy covers a multitude of praiseworthy deeds of charity. Thus, all the faithful, even though unequal to one another in worldly possessions, should be equal in the drive of their spiritual lives.