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Pastoral Letter for Lent 2014

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

We forget God. We live in an age where God has become the forgotten God. Even the one who

says, The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me(Isaiah 49:14) has in fact, himself

forgotten God. But God does not forget us. He always makes himself known when we least expect

it. He just cannot forget us. "Can a woman forget her sucking child... Even these may forget, yet I

will not forget you, (Isaiah 49:15-16) continues the passage from the prophet Isaiah. This message is

especially important for our times, because so many people nowadays feel unnoticed and not

respected as the unique individuals that they are. The mercy of God expresses itself precisely in his

motherly care and fatherly providence shown for each individual in every moment of their

existence, no matter who or what they are. No human love can give us an adequate idea of how

close God is to us and how much He loves us. At the same time we are aware how hard it is to

mediate this insight to others. We should, however, not give up all hope of somehow reminding

them of the God, whom they have forgotten, but who can never forget them.

When we forget God, there is a great risk that we also forget man and fail to see him in his dignity

of being created in the image of God. When God is forgotten, creation itself is diminished and so

are all created beings. In a time and environment where consumerism is paramount, everything -and everybody - is easily reduced to things that can be consumed. When God is out of sight, so is

humanity - indeed all of creation is brought down and diminished. The wonder is that God can still

bring Himself to our attention through the created world. "Look at the birds of the air... Consider the

lilies of the field," says Jesus (Matthew 6:26, 28). The beauty of creation points to the far greater

beauty of God. In our cultural sphere we are often responsive to nature as a way to God. The

forgotten and hidden God allows us to glimpse Him in the beauty of the natural world. Lilies and

birds have, according to Jesus, much to teach us: "Therefore do not be anxious," (Matthew 6:31).

God can reach us through that which we see and hear. His presence permeates everything. We can

become aware of Him through those we meet and what we experience. If we open our hearts to this

truth, we find that everything is alive with the presence of God. Then we also gain an increased

respect for creation and are willing to keep it intact instead of exploiting it.

Lent is just such a time when we try to show God our veneration and love by refraining from using

created things. We eat less. We disengage ourselves from our covetousness. We try to help our

neighbor. We meet God in the poor and naked. We forget ourselves so that we can set God in the

centre. We serve those who need us. We praise God for his goodness. We deepen our faith. Lent

helps us to seek God with greater eagerness. We are more receptive to God's will for us. St. Birgitta

likens God to a washerwoman, who constantly washes us clean of our sins and guilt. During Lent

we are serious about our conversion. We prepare ourselves for the triumph and joy of Easter

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through contrition and penance, by receiving the sacrament of reconciliation and by participating in

the Eucharist more often. We unite ourselves to the suffering and crucified Christ so that we can

meet Him as the Risen and glorified Lord. The cross always leads us to the joy and peace of Easter.

"No one can serve two masters; ...You cannot serve God and mammon. (Matthew 6:24). We must

choose sides. We cannot limp on both sides. Mediocrity and half-heartedness must give way to

devotion and commitment. We must begin each day anew in the new life of grace. We must seekthe face of God each day by praying to Him and serving Him in our neighbour. God meets us in

many ways. We can renew our offering of ourselves to God during Lent. We can help each other to

get closer to God. The Church is a community where we together receive God and strengthen each

other in faith, hope and love. We have celestial friends, the saints, who pray for us on our

pilgrimage towards eternal glory. When we risk getting stuck in selfishness and forgetting God,

they can wake us up again.

The Blessed Virgin Mary plays an important role in our lives as Christians, She is both the Mother

of God and our mother, who constantly wants to help us to come closer to God in Jesus Christ.

Therefore, this Lent we shall be celebrating a feast in Lund on Saturday 22 March, when the Nordic

Bishops will consecrate our countries to the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Weentrust ourselves to her help, so that our hearts may open more widely to God and to all He wants to

do for us and through us in our respective countries. We need our Lady's help to be a more

evangelizing Church, which spreads the joyful message and helps our brothers and sisters in need.

We need Mary so as not to forget God and get stuck in ourselves and our petty interests. Mary will

help us on the way to sanctity and find our way to follow Jesus and be a witness to him in our

society. It is twenty-five years this year since John Paul II visited our countries and consecrated

them to Mary in Reykjavik. This year he will be canonized on 27 April along with Pope John

XXIII. These solemn occasions can be a reminder for us to love the Church who helps us to never

forget God but instead to be transformed more and more by his grace. "For God alone my soul waits

in silence; from him comes my salvation" (Psalm 62:1). How could we then forget the God who has

done so much for us?

+Anders Arborelius, OCD

Stockholm, February 2014