“The fruit of a courageous ascetical journey can only be a greater openness to the needs of our neighbor. Those who love the Lord cannot close their eyes to individuals and people who are tried by suffering and poverty. After contemplating the face of the crucified Lord, how can we not recognize Him and serve Him in those who are suffering and abandoned? Jesus himself, who invites us to stay with Him watching and praying, also asks us to love Him in our brothers and sisters, remembering that as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to Me.
The fruit of a Lent intensely lived will thus be a greater and more universal love.”
Pope John Paul II (Ash Wednesday, 28 February 2001)
grace, peace & Lenten fruit
Virginia : )
Roses in the Rubble 
Ginny, I’m a Lenten Newbie but find that this quote from Pope John Paul II makes perfect sense if one truly ponders the meaning of The Cross. -cin
Thanks Cindy – for sure, Love is what the Cross is All About — & the Christ-centered life of Pope John Paul II (we just finished watching a 3+ hour movie of his life in Poland under the Nazis & then under the communists — AMAZING FAITH.) Ginny