F
or more than 5 decades, the
Catholic Church in Brazil
has carried out its Solidarity
Campaign to raise aware-
ness of the concrete problems facing
Brazilian society.
The campaign culminates in a
collection at Mass on Palm Sunday,
whose funds go toward supporting
social projects run by local dioceses.
Conversion and service
In a message sent on Ash Wednes-
day, Pope Francis praised the Lenten
initiative, saying it shows that con-
version cannot be separated from
service to our brothers and sisters,
especially those most in need.
“This year,” he said, “the campaign’s
theme deals precisely with the value
of life and our responsibility to care
for it in all its stages, because life is a
gift and a commitment. It is a loving
gift from God, which we must con-
tinually care for.”
Living Lent well
The Pope also urged Brazilian
Catholics to overcome the “globali-
zation of indifference”.
He said the parable of the Good Sa-
maritan (Lk 10:25-37) shows us the
path toward living Lent well, and in-
dicates three fundamental attitudes:
“seeing, feeling compassion, and
caring”.
“Like God, who hears the cry for
help of those who suffer, we must
open our hearts and minds to allow
the cry of our brothers and sisters in
need of food, clothing, lodging, and
accompaniment resound in us.”
Compassion becomes solidarity
Lent, said Pope Francis, is the per-
fect time for us to turn compassion
into concrete acts of solidarity.
Concluding his message, the Pope
prayed that God might bless the Sol-
idarity Campaign and that it might
be “for the whole of Brazil a time in
which the value of life is strength-
ened as gift and commitment.”
