Pope Francis urges Christians to ‘sow seeds of goodness’

POPE Francis, in his message on Lent, has urged Christians to sow seeds of goodness so that they might reap a harvest of salvation for themselves and others.
Lent began with Ash Wednesday yesterday.
Pope Francis quoted a passage from St Paul’s Letter to the Galatians (6:9-10): “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time, we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up. So then, while we have the opportunity, let us do good to all.
“Lent invites us to conversion, to a change in mindset, so that life’s truth and beauty may be found not so much in possessing as in giving, not so much in accumulating as in sowing and sharing goodness,” he said.
He said God was the first to sow, sowing “abundant seeds of goodness in our human family”.
During Lent, “we are called to respond to God’s gift” by listening to His Word, so that it might “bear fruit in our lives”.
In this way, we become “God’s co-workers,” which is a grace of sharing in God’s own “bountiful goodness.” Pope Francis said this, in turn, led to a harvest.
He said when people sow seeds of goodness and kindness, they radiate light and carry “the fragrance of Christ to the world.”
Recalling the Gospel proverb “one sows, while another reaps,” Pope Francis reminded people that “we see only a small portion of the fruits we sow”.
He explained that “sowing goodness for the benefit of others frees us from narrow self-interest, infuses us our actions with gratuitousness and makes us part of the magnificent horizon of God’s benevolent plan”.
Pope Francis connected Paul’s words to the Galatians to the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and alms giving.
“Let us not grow tired of praying,” he said.
“Let us not grow tired of uprooting evil from our lives.”
We must embrace fasting “to fortify our spirit for the battle against sin”, especially through the sacrament of confession and by fighting against concupiscence.