“Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all” (Gal 6:9-10), is the subheading of the message of Pope Francis for Lent 2022.

In is typical method of focusing on three things the message is based on “Sowing and reaping”, “Let us not grow tired of doing good,” and “If we do not give up, we shall reap our harvest in due time”. The Holy Father says Lent invites us to conversion, to a change in mindset, so that life’s truth and beauty may be found not so much in possessing as in giving, not so much in accumulating as in sowing and sharing goodness. “The word of God broadens and elevates our vision: it tells us that the real harvest is eschatological, the harvest of the last, undying day.” says the Pope.

‘Jesus taught us to “pray always without becoming weary” (Lk 18:1). We need to pray because we need God. Thinking that we need nothing other than ourselves is a dangerous illusion,’ advises the Pope regarding the need to pray always. Pope Francis adds that Lent is a propitious time to resist these temptations and to cultivate instead a more integral form of human communication made up of “authentic encounters”, face-to-face and in person.

On never giving up the Pontiff says, ‘If we fall, let us stretch out our hand to the Father, who always lifts us up. If we are lost, if we are misled by the enticements of the evil one, let us not hesitate to return to God, who “is generous in forgiving”’. Continuing he says with the gift of perseverance, we shall obtain what was promised, for our salvation and the salvation of others.

Below is the full message