"Your vocation is to love, to suffer and to save souls" (Jesus to Mother, 10 Sep. 1946)

"Teach the people to pray the family Rosary" (Our Lady to Mother)

Lent offers us many opportunities to express our love more fruitfully in service. Again and again we must assiduously beg God to make us worthy to serve our fellowmen as Jesus serve The quality of our service is very important and it depends not on how much we do but on how much love we put into our doing. Service without love cannot be sincere. It can easily be felt and noticed, like when we take our meals, we can easily notice whether there is enough salt in the food or not. The salt is very simple, but without it the food is tasteless. As the salt is necessary for the food to be tasty, love is necessary for our actions to be fruitful and effective.

Lent is a time for us to re-examine our actions whether we do them with love, or without it. We may not need to do big things in this holy season, but to do ordinary things with extraordinary love and to be constant in doing them.

Just the other morning I was at the main train station in Rome (Termini). A man walked to me and asked for some money. He didn’t look that poor, sick or old. I asked why he did not look for a job to which his answer was that nobody gave him a job. We talked for a while together. And then he asked me again for money to get some breakfast. So I told him to come with me to a bar and he was happy. He became so much more friendly. He had his coffee with joy. Very often it is easy for us to give little money and walk by: but it can be more demanding to go the extra mile with our needy brother. Lent is the right time to do that.

One of the M.C. Brothers who was also a dear friend said one day to Mother Teresa: "Mother, my vocation is to work for the lepers". Mother said: "No, brother, your vocation is to belong to Jesus and become holy like Him by doing God’s will as Jesus did His Father’s will". If we are really holy, and if we try to do God’s will, we also will be eager to love and serve our fellowmen throughout the world who live and die in poverty and hunger. We will then want to pray: "Lord, give them through our hands this day their daily bread and by our understanding love, give them peace and joy".

Many of you LMCs have tried to answer the questionnaire in preparation for the forthcoming Chapter in September-October 2001. What would be your next step? It is a must for all the LMCs to study the following apostolic exhortations: Familiaris Consortio and Christifideles Laici. Nos. 16 and 17 of the latter are very highly recommended to be read during this season with the intention of translating them into everyday life.

Hope to hear from you all soon. On 18 March at 5.00 p.m. we have the blessing of the being still renovated house by his Eminence Cardinal Mayer O.S.B. All of you are cordially invited to participate in it by your welcome presence and fervent prayers.

I take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to all those who have helped and may help us to realise this project.. may the good Lord reward you for your kindness and generosity.

Some suggestions for the holy season of Lent:

1. Some important virtues to practise especially during Lent:

• More silence: interior and exterior

• More humility, more charity, more joy
• More forgiveness, more mercy
• More gentleness and more tenderness etc.

1. Greater fidelity to one’s duties of state of life and also to the spiritual exercises:

• Examination of conscience
• Contemplation: contemplating the face of Jesus in the Eucharist, in each other and in the persons of the poor.
• Scripture reading
• All duties of the state of life, duties towards one’s family etc.

1. Fast and abstinence:

• From food (whatever little sacrifices one is able to make)
• From watching television (limited time, and only useful and beneficial programmes)

1. Study of the Statutes for 15 minutes a day (recommended)
2. The evil one is going to be very active during the season of Lent. He knows our weaknesses and failures more than we ourselves know them. The devil has taken his degree in capital sins in Lucifer’s university. Listen to our first Pope: "Stay sober and alert. Your opponent, the devil is prowling like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, solid in your faith" (1Pt 5: 8-9a)

Let us pray for each other that we may have a very fruitful and joyful Lent that prepares us for the great and glorious feast of Easter.

God bless you