Pope Francis asks Christians to start Lent 'full of hope' in the footsteps of Jesus Christ
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A woman receives ashes on the observance of Ash Wednesday at a church in Manila, Philippines, on March 5, 2025. The 40-day period of Lent begins for Catholics around the world on Ash Wednesday. / Credit: TED ALJIBE/AFP via Getty ImagesVatican City, Mar 5, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).Pope Francis asked Christians on Ash Wednesday to set out in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, full of hope, throughout the season of Lent.In his prepared March 5 catechesis, the Holy Father, who remains in Rome's Gemelli Hospital for treatment of double pneumonia, spoke about the 12-year-old Jesus' desire to live his mission as the Son of God."Jesus wants to live his vocation as the son of the Father who is at his service and lives immersed in his word," he said. "Jesus' first words [in the Bible] recognize that this paternity traces his origins from that of his heavenly Father, whose undisputed primacy he acknowledges." In his catechesis, the Holy Father also reflected on how Jesus' parents, Mary and ...
A woman receives ashes on the observance of Ash Wednesday at a church in Manila, Philippines, on March 5, 2025. The 40-day period of Lent begins for Catholics around the world on Ash Wednesday. / Credit: TED ALJIBE/AFP via Getty Images
Vatican City, Mar 5, 2025 / 11:00 am (CNA).
Pope Francis asked Christians on Ash Wednesday to set out in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, full of hope, throughout the season of Lent.
In his prepared March 5 catechesis, the Holy Father, who remains in Rome's Gemelli Hospital for treatment of double pneumonia, spoke about the 12-year-old Jesus' desire to live his mission as the Son of God.
"Jesus wants to live his vocation as the son of the Father who is at his service and lives immersed in his word," he said. "Jesus' first words [in the Bible] recognize that this paternity traces his origins from that of his heavenly Father, whose undisputed primacy he acknowledges."
In his catechesis, the Holy Father also reflected on how Jesus' parents, Mary and Joseph, had to mature in their own understanding of their growing son's vocation and mission.
Reflecting on St. Luke's Gospel account when the 12-year-old Jesus stayed back at the Temple of Jerusalem, the pope said Mary and Joseph felt the pain of parents with a missing child.
"Upon returning to the Temple," the pope said, "they discover that he who, in their eyes, until a short time before, was still a child to protect, suddenly seems grown up, capable now of getting involved in discussions on the Scriptures, of holding his own with the teachers of the law."
While having a "unique communion with the Word of God" as the mother of God, the Holy Father said Mary was not spared a demanding "apprenticeship" in learning God's will at each moment of her life.
"Throughout this journey, the Virgin is a pilgrim of hope, in the strong sense that she becomes the 'daughter of her Son,' the first of his disciples," the pope shared in his catechesis.
"Mary brought into the world Jesus, hope of humanity," he continued. "She nourished him, made him grow, followed him, letting herself be the first to be shaped by the Word of God."
By allowing themselves to be led by Jesus, the pope said Christians can imitate the "response of love" of Mary and Joseph during the season of Lent.
"Let us also set out in the footsteps of the Lord," the pope said in his Ash Wednesday catechesis.
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null / Credit: Rohane Hamilton/ShutterstockWashington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 5, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).President Donald Trump's administration may be walking back an earlier plan that would have required insurance companies to provide coverage for in vitro fertilization (IVF), according to a report from the Washington Post.The Post reported that "two people with knowledge of internal discussions" told the outlet that the White House does not plan to impose any IVF mandates on health insurance providers.According to the report, a senior administration official said expanding IVF access is still "a huge priority" for the president but that any government-imposed mandatory coverage would need to come from legislation passed through Congress. The article reported that such a plan is not on the table at the moment.CNA reached out to the White House for a response to that report and to ask whether religious liberty concerns for Catholics and others opposed to IVF are being weighed in the...
