1/3 Sunday 1st of Lent Year B
……………………………
The time has arrived; the kingdom of God is upon you! Mark 1,15
We want to face our new propositions for lent with a determination and generosity; we will be with Jesus in the desert searching for the Father, for his love and for his will. With Jesus we will be able to declare: "the time has arrived and the kingdom of God is upon us!" In other words now is the time to bring the love of the Father, who is fullness of life and the fulfilment of all we are waiting for, to our brothers and sisters.

2/3 Monday 1st of Lent
……………………..
You must be holy. Leviticus 19,2
At the start of lent, the Lord asks us to be holy. He tells us not to be afraid, holiness is nothing strange for special people: it is simply to accept him as love into our lives. During this sacred period we will once again be reborn with joy as children of God!

3/3 Tuesday 1st of Lent
……………………………
Your Father knows what your needs are! Matthew 6,8
During lent I will try not to concentrate only on my needs. My Father knows everything: I will, therefore, try to be accepting in peace and trust and will open my heart to him and be willing to let myself be persuaded, forgiven and renewed.

4/3 Wednesday 1st of Lent
………………..
Let all abandon…the injustice they practice! Jonah 3,8
How did all the city of Nineveh convert? Did everyone decide to convert individually? We are all loved individually by God. We cannot expect everyone to take the decision, but I can decide, and you too can decide…then we will see great things!

5/3 Thursday 1st of Lent
…………………
To those who knock the door will be opened! Matthew 7,8
Today Jesus assures us that when we have faith and perseverance in prayer we will not be disappointed: God is our Father and he loves us; the cries, the tears and the pleading of his children always move his heart. Let us turn to him constantly with confidence, in particular, during lent: we are all in need. But we must not forget that the best gift of the Father is the gift of his Spirit.

6/3 Friday Time of Lent
……………………
First go and make peace with your brother! Matthew 5,24
Jesus, the only one without blame, offered his life, suffered and died in order to reconcile us with the Father. How can I possibly not try to make peace with my brothers who are sinners just as I am.

7/3 Saturday Time of Lent
……………………..
Love your enemies! Matthew 5,44
Although it is not my intention, I am often a burden to my family: my character which I have not yet learnt to modify, the disease from which I have suffered for some time, all that I am lacking in… And yet they continue to love me, for the sake of Jesus; it must be a bit like loving an "enemy", one who makes them suffer.. Thank you, Jesus, for those who are obedient to you and are thus a source of life for their brothers and sisters. They will surely be rewarded by the Lord of heaven and earth.

8/3 Sunday 2nd Time of Lent
……………………….
In their presence he was transfigured! Mark 9,2
Jesus, on the mountain that day, the Father gave three of your disciples a great sign: they saw you in glory, filled with the wonderful light of your true being as the Son of God. Thank you Father, for having hidden in our lives too the signs that Jesus is truly your Son and that in accepting him we please you. Guard our faith in him in loyalty and joy even in difficult times, when we are asked to carry our cross with love.

9/3 Monday 2nd Time of Lent
………………………
We have not obeyed the Lord our God! Daniel 9,10
The Lord has called us many times to small, perhaps even hidden, acts of mercy, humility or patience … We can certainly join in confessing that we have not obeyed the voice of God and bow down before the Father. He expects this act of humility in order to be able to help us and to give us his grace.

10/3 Tuesday 2nd Time of Lent
………………………
Learn to do good! Isaiah 1,17
We Christians, Lord Jesus, thanks to your love, are children of God. So while "the world" tries to discover many new things, we cannot forget that the most important thing to learn is "the life" of our Father, love. Through your grace we wish to learn to forgive, to be generous, to understand and comfort our brothers and sisters and to offer our lives… All the sciences will pass, but love will have no end!

11/3 Wednesday 2nd Time of Lent
………………..
Is good to be repaid with evil? Jeremiah 18,20
Oh yes! Men and women and I include myself, often repay good with evil. The Lord, however, always repays with good even what is evil, even when on the cross. If I keep my attention on him I will learn to be like him and to forgive any wrongs done to me.

12/3 Thursday 2nd Time of Lent
……………………
Blessed is anyone who trusts in the Lord! Jeremiah 17,7
For no particular reason, a misunderstanding arose: any harmony or joy in communion seemed lost forever. I had no strength left, I was able only to cry…but that was during the time I normally dedicated to prayer… I began to recite the psalm: immediately there was light and with the light of the Lord peace with my brother. It is you, Lord who can help the poor!

13/1 Friday 2nd Time of Lent
………………………….
They will respect my son! Matthew 21,37
It seems that the Father's hope was betrayed not only by the religious leaders at the time of Jesus, but also by men and women in the third millennium. How many insults today against that Son who, with his sacrifice, offered salvation to the world… Good Father, despite my poverty, I offer myself to make repairs and honour your son Jesus, in all fullness of your love!
14/3 Saturday 2nd Time of Lent
………………..
My son, you are always with me! Luke 15,31
The complaints of the older son stem from the fact of his having lived obediently for years in his father's house without realizing what a great gift he had; he had lived there not as a son, but as a servant obliged to serve. He did not realise that all he did could have been done in gratitude for the love and vicinity of the Father which were already his! Do you realise this?

15/3 Sunday 3rd of Lent
………………….
Zeal for your house will consume me! John 2,17
You knew the true face of God, Jesus; you knew that God is the Father who loves his children and wishes to give them salvation freely through you. You could not allow the spiritual leaders to hide the face of the Father or to present him wrongly in the temple. I understand Jesus, that your "zeal for your house" is your love for the Father, your love for me; I worship you and I thank you, Lord Jesus!

16/3 Monday 3rd Time of Lent
…………………
Wash and be clean! II Kings 5,13
The story from the Old Testament today, offers us a lesson for today too: healing for our spiritual wounds and weaknesses do not come from us or from our sacrifices, even the biggest that we might undertake; it comes rather from the humble obedience of those whom the Lord sends us as ministers of his will and of his grace and from the brothers and sisters whom providence sends.

17/3 March 3rd Time of Lent
…………………….
Be patient with me and I will pay you! Matthew 18,29
When someone turns to you for help, love, a gesture of solidarity or pardon, remember that we live only thanks to the mercy of the Father; it is a great joy to be like him: we could not employ
ourselves in anything better.

18/3 Wednesday 3rd Time of Lent
……………………..
I did not come to abolish but to complete! Matthew 5,17
Jesus was talking to the disciples who were well aware of God's instruction given through Moses and other Prophets. Jesus did not abolish them, rather he completed them, explained them more profoundly, rooted them in the light of a love without limits so that every law points to the will of God which is love for all men and women.

19/3 Thursday 3rd Time of Lent
……………………
Do not be afraid to take Mary with you! Matthew 1,20
Joseph, Mary's husband and the Patron of the Church, intercede for me that I might have a heart like yours, always ready to do the Father's will, ready to offer my life so that his love might be made known, the heart of a child who knows that only the Father can give salvation and peace.

20/3 Friday 3rd Time of Lent
………………………..
The Lord's ways are straight! Hosea 14,9
Thank you Lord, for giving all sinners the gift of walking your straight paths. How often have I heard deep within your voice calling me to forgiveness, to humility, to benevolence, to reliance on the Father … Sometimes I have listened and overcome my egoism and have walked your path; it was a gift from you, Lord Jesus!

21/3 Saturday 3rd Time of Lent
……………………..
I require loyalty not sacrifice! Hosea 6,6
Let us try to live with a true Christian spirit those things we have undertaken to do during lent, both as individuals and as a community, so that they do not become superficial or a question of pride. Let love and gratitude be at the root of what we chose to do and at the root of the desire to grow in knowledge and communion with the Lord and our brothers and sisters!

22/3 Sunday 4th Time of Lent
…………………
Those who live by the truth come to the light! John 3,21
Holy Easter is approaching and on that day we will all as disciples of Jesus, open our eyes to the wonderful light of the Lord and Saviour who overcomes darkness and death. Let us hurry, therefore, to live in truth and love and leave behind what belongs to the earth: let us approach with great trust and joy the Risen Christ to accept him with all our heart!

23/3 Monday 4th Time of Lent
…………………..
Will none of you ever believe without seeing signs and portents? John 4,48
This is the Jesus' reply to the centurion who asks him to heal his son and is the reason why Jesus did so many signs and miracles: to lead people to faith in him. To help us, that is, to trust in him, to help us understand that only in him will we find a new and full life. It is never too late!

24/3 Tuesday 4th Time of Lent
…………………………….
Do you want to get well? John 5,6
Jesus, today you pass by me, just as then, near the pool of Bethesda you passed the loneliest and poorest of the sick. Only your eyes see how I suffer, only your heart which beats in unison with the Fathers leads you to acknowledge my need for salvation, forgiveness and new life. Thank you, Jesus, for seeing me, for loving me: I am no longer alone, no longer afraid; take my life into your hands; I trust in you.

25/3 Wednesday 4th Time of Lent
………………..
The Lord is with you! Luke 1,28
Mary understands that the Angel's greeting had a very profound meaning: it was used among her people to wish the Lord's help in particularly important missions. And the Father had indeed, a very important mission for Mary! We too, Jesus' Church of which Mary is the image, receive this greeting in every celebration of the Eucharist! The mission our Father wishes to entrust to us is also great in his kingdom.

26/3 Thursday 4th Time of Lent
……………….
The Father has sent me! John 5,36
Lord Jesus, I believe that you are the one who the Father has sent. You will not deceive me, you do not have ulterior motives: you bring me all and only the Father's love, which means true, full life for me today and forever. I choose you, Lord Jesus, even when you talk about the cross, about offering my life so that the Father's love might be realised. You, Lord Jesus, full of love and kindness are my Lord!

27/3 Friday 4th Time of Lent
……………………………
The Jews were looking for a chance to kill him. John 7,1
Lord Jesus, you carried within you the love of the Father, a love which is free and merciful; for this reason you were hated by those who preferred their own wellbeing, their own glory to the Father.
Renew in us, in this period of prayer and conversion, our faith in the Father so that we never "kill" that love which he has hidden in us and in our brothers and sisters, and may become kind and happy "servers" all our lives.

28/3 Saturday 4th Time of Lent
………………………….
No one ever spoke as this man speaks! John 7,46
Yes, because "this man", Jesus, is not only a man, but is the only true God to become man. For this reason his words are wiser and more filled with love than those of the best of men. Men say that it is right to be punished if we do wrong. Jesus says: I will take upon me the punishment of all humanity. Man says; do not hurt anyone. Jesus says; love and help your enemies. Man says; fear God! Jesus says; call him "Father"!

29/3 Sunday 5th Time of Lent
…………………..
If anyone is to serve me, he is to follow me! John 12,26
To truly serve Jesus and not to risk serving someone or something else, it is necessary to follow him: that is, to walk behind him, to walk the same path, to tread in his footsteps. And to do this it is important not to loose sight of him, to wander far from him, but to focus on him. Today, participation in the Eucharist will help us to do this.

30/3 Monday 5th Time of Lent
……………………….
Go and do not sin again! John 8,11
Yesterday the Lord gave me a gift: while talking to a young Muslim, I was able to say: "see how great are the gifts that God gives us through Jesus: the certainty that in his name all sins are forgiven, the grace to be able begin a new, good and happy life with him".

31/3 Tuesday 5th Time of Lent
Where I am going you cannot come! John 8,21
You are returning to the Father, Lord Jesus: after having fulfilled his will with love, you take up your place forever in his heart. When will we also be able to come with you to the Father's heart? Every time we trust in you and observe your word: then the doors of paradise and the arms of our Father will also open for us.

BACK UP