Lenten and Easter message of CBCP President and Davao archbishop Romulo Valles

My brothers and sisters in the Lord! I am grateful for this opportunity to share with you my Lenten and
Easter message, my thoughts and reflections these days. I have to tell you that I have been very much
inspired by the Lenten Message of our Holy Father for us this liturgical year. The Season of Lent In the
days of the season of Lent, we are supposed to prepare for the glorious celebration of Easter.

In the words of Pope Francis: “Lent summons us and enables us to come back to the Lord wholeheartedly
and in every aspect of our life.”

In one of the Prefaces of Lent, we pray… “You have given your children a sacred time for the renewing
and purifying of their hearts that freed from disordered affections, they may so deal with the things of this
passing world as to hold rather to the things that eternally endure.”

That is why, at the beginning of Lent, we were reminded: “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you
shall return.” Or, as in the popular Lenten song that quotes the prophet Hosea, the Lord says, “Come back
to me with all your heart…” So, the real challenge and opportunity in these days of Lent is to return to the
Lord and trust him to renew us. Lent is about to end, my dear brothers and sisters.

In fact it is ending this Holy Thursday, daytime; for in the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, we will
already start the celebration of the Easter Mysteries. The Church has kept the beautiful tradition of Lenten
practices for us, to help us return to the Lord, and these are prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

Thus, we ask ourselves as we are about to conclude the preparatory days of Lent: Have we prayed enough
in silence, in the depths of our hearts, crying to the Lord, struggling to return to him?

And, have we prayed with the Church community in her beautiful Lenten liturgy, in the sacraments,
especially through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, listening to God’s word, and participating in the table
of the holy Eucharist so that, I hope by now, we have become closer to the Lord?

And how about our almsgiving? Almsgiving, but not in the sense that we give because we have extra
resources to give, but really giving of what we really have, including even ourselves. An almsgiving that
is closer to the giving of Jesus of himself for us.
True almsgiving helps us to stay away from greed and self-centeredness and inspires us and allows
ourselves to be Christ-like to other.