Fr Raniero Cantalamessa, Preacher of the Papal Household, preached the first sermon for the Season of Lent, reflecting on St. Paul’s writing to the Romans: “Do not be conformed to this world.” (Rom 12:2). Fr. Canatalamessa highlighted faith is the primary battleground between the Christian and the world.
As reported by Vatican Radio, Fr. Cantalamessa remarked that “Morally speaking, the world can be defined as those who refuse to believe. The world can put people to sleep and suck out all their spiritual energy. The remedy is that someone shout Wake up! which is what the Word of God does on so many occasions and which the liturgy of the Church makes us hear again precisely at the beginning of Lent: Awake, O sleeper (Eph 5:14); it is full time now for you to wake from sleep (Rom 13:11).”
Fr. Cantalamessa concluded his remarks by reminding to look at the image of the crucifix and go before Holy One and conveyed that this image is the remedy for all the poison we have ingested so that we may with Jesus pass from this world to the Father.
