Lent: Pasolini warns against reducing sin to “a small mistake or weakness”

Vatican City - This morning the Pope took part in the first Lenten sermon of 2026 in the Paul VI Hall, delivered by the Preacher of the Papal Household, Father Roberto Pasolini. The theme of the meditation was conversion, read in the light of Saint Francis of Assisi and the path of humility.

Pasolini explained that conversion does not simply mean correcting one’s behaviour, but living a “transformation of vision” and a “revolution of sensibility”. He took as his starting point Francis’ encounter with the lepers, when what had seemed bitter to him was turned into sweetness. For Pasolini, that is the heart of conversion: not primarily an effort of the will, but an inner change brought about by grace. He then said that sin must not be trivialised, because it touches man’s freedom and responsibility and requires deep healing, not merely a superficial adjustment. He placed strong emphasis on humility, explaining that it does not humiliate man but restores him to the truth of himself: “Humility does not impoverish man: it restores him to himself.” Finally, he pointed to evangelical smallness as a concrete form of the Christian life, capable of generating mercy, communionand even peace in the world.

The next appointment will be on Friday 13 March at 9.00 a.m., again in the Paul VI Hall.

fr.G.C.
Silere non possum