The project for a peaceful and unified Europe now stands at the crossroads. This has been shown, not least, by the Brexit-referendum in the United Kingdom in June 2016, which has opened up a period of doubt and uncertainty. It must be seen as an alarming sign of a widespread dissatisfaction and malaise, which calls for convincing answers. In this situation, the political “muddling through”, which for a long time has been a fairly successful strategy, no longer suffices…

Continuing a long-standing tradition, Pope Francis celebrated the Holy Mass for Ash Wednesday at the Basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine hill in Rome.

The Holy Father began his homily for the beginning of Lent with the words of the prophet Joel, from the first Reading: “Return to me with all your heart… Return to the Lord.” These words, the Pope said, apply to everyone, and exclude no one; “we all want to return to the merciful heart of the Father.”

Lent, the Pope said, is a path that “leads to the triumph of mercy over all that would crush us or reduce us to something unworthy of our dignity as God’s children.” The mark of ashes, received during the ceremony, reminds us of our origins, that we are dust – but, he said, it also reminds us that God breathed life into each of us…

As we head into the Lenten season, Pope Francis has invited us to reflect on our relationship to God and to money, as we can’t serve both masters at the same time. His words came on Tuesday during morning Mass in the Casa Santa Marta.

Speaking about the message of the Gospel readings in these days leading up to the beginning of Lent, Pope Francis recalled the story of the rich young man who wanted to follow the Lord, but whose wealth led him to follow money instead…