The Lenten journey is similar to the adventure of the Jewish people, refugees from Egypt, wandering in the desert in the hope of reaching the Holy Mount to meet Yahweh.
The desert is a necessary lap, irreplaceable, it cannot be avoided it we want to reach the profound conclusion that Yahweh is the one true God, the Creator and that there are no other gods but Him.
It is in the desert that we experience our human limits, our fragility and our nothingness because the desert is arid, empty, lifeless. It is in the desert that we ask ourselves: "God or me?" It is in the desert that the question arises "to whom shall I listen, to the Word of God or to others? To whom shall I give glory?" or the other question: "Is God with us, yes or no?"
Only when we feel our fundamental inconsistency, are we able to truly accept the announcement: "I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods. You shall have no idols or images of what exists in heaven or on earth" Creatures are not your gods they are my creatures. They are not absolute; they were brought into being with the breath of my spirit. They are good because they reflect my goodness and my beauty.
The recognition that God is the one and only Creator fills us with wonder and amazement before all his creatures; they are all signs and sacraments of God. It is from this profound spirituality that Francis of Assisi senses that he is in communion with all creatures which he sees as brothers and sisters in the great family of creation.
This is why all creatures including man must enter the repose of the Sabbath: they must stop their work, men and animals; the earth itself, which must be left in peace every fifty years, must not be violated. Everything is waiting to enter the repose of the eternal Sabbath.
The first sentiment is that of praise and thanksgiving to God for all he has created, for all his creatures.
But man has corrupted this plan of God. Broken relations with God have also affected the friendship and harmony of all his creatures. Enmity and violence have become a universal cosmic factor. And here then comes the Cross of Christ: only through the immolation of God himself in Christ, was it possible to lead creation back to reconciliation and harmony. This mystery is not understood by men or by the great religions: it is too great. It is the death of God which brings life to all.
With the Resurrection, everything is agglutinated around the body of Christ. "Destroy this temple and in three days I will build it up again". He will rebuild the temple of creation destroyed by sin, not the temple made by man but the one fashioned by God himself. Therefore God himself in Christ will be the light, the city, the Temple, his tent among all men.
To make humanity into the body of Christ is the mission of the Church.
(Fides Service 27/3/2003 EM lines 37 Words: 547)