Brothers and sisters
May the Lord peace you!
I am really happy to be here and celebrate the Eucharist with you. I wanted to come and celebrate in Limassol immediately after the Ordination because I was not able to come here before the Ordination. And today I am here, to tell you that I care about this community… that I love you…. And we want to walk together.
Brothers and sisters, the mission, the responsibility of the bishop is not easy. Why? Because the bishop is responsible for your salvation… yes, the salvation of his flock. And the signs that the bishop bears recall precisely this. The cross… because I must love the Church, my flock, my people until death on the cross. The crosier (stick) has the hook (anchor), because he has to take the sheep by the neck, so as not to lose any sheep. Then the colors recall blood… loving to the point of giving your own blood… so it won’t be easy, that’s why I ask: pray for me!
We are at the beginning of our Lenten journey, and the call from the word of God to convert us is strong. To convert to peace. Peace with ourselves and with others. Peace with ourselves comes through conversion and distancing ourselves from evil and distancing ourselves from sin. And it all starts here, if we are not at peace with ourselves, we will always be at war with others… Peace with others is built in dialogue, respect and collaboration… (in the acceptance of others different from us).
In the passage from the Gospel of Mark that we heard, Jesus retreats into the desert to pray and is tempted by the Devil. He resists with prayer and penance for forty days (quarantine or lent) and teaches us to lay the foundations to face any temptation and any evil in our lives: pride, arrogance, feeling better or superior to others , which trigger wars of all kinds. Having emerged humanly strengthened from this experience, Jesus begins his public ministry.
Yes, brothers and sisters, we need to retreat for prayer, into the desert which is an image of returning to the essentials. It is sad when we find Christians who think that they do not need to pray… and think that they can overcome temptation without prayer… without the Holy Mass, without the Eucharist.
May this Lent season help us spiritually to carry forward our project of inner and spiritual peace on a personal level, through a life of prayer and purification. And that no one takes on the appearance of the Devil, becoming discord and causing war instead of peace and harmony… And here, as a pastor I really have to be sincere and tell you: the devil exists. And the mission is to divide (The word devils: the divider). But the devil is intelligent, and he knows how to try. He will never say: don’t do good, don’t forgive, don’t help the poor, don’t visit the sick. He will always say, leave it for tomorrow, do it tomorrow… (like the diet we always say will start on Monday).
We want to say on these first Sundays of Lent: We want to convert today… change something in our lives today. Forgive and improve our family relationships today. Today we want to visit our sick, visit those who are alone… and welcome the words of the Gospel: convert and believe in the Gospel… to arrive at Easter, better than we are today. More Christians, more brothers and sisters… on the path to holiness… amen!