Fifth Sunday of Lent
Before the liturgical renewal begun by Pius XII, the fifth Sunday of Lent was referred to as Passion Sunday, beginning a period known as Passiontide. Those of us of a certain age will recall that it was on this Sunday all the statues and images in the church were covered with purple cloth. It is interesting to note, that although things got covered on this Sunday of Lent, on Passion Sunday in 1937 there was a massive uncovering of the truth concerning Hitler’s control on the country of Germany. Although there was growing concern about Hitler’s activities, no leader of any country had the courage to make any of their concerns public. Pope Pius XI was the first. Although the encyclical Mit Brennender Sorge did not mention Hitler by name, the use of the German term Wahnprophet in the text—a prophet of nothingness—was a clear reference to Hitler.
Pope Pius XI knew the importance of recognizing evil and sinful behavior and calling it out for what it was. In this he followed Ignatius’ wisdom of the First Week of the Spiritual Exercises, a period within the retreat in which the retreatant sees what needs to be changed in his or her life. No progress can be made in the spiritual life unless there is a recognition of what keeps us from that progress. The season of Lent provides us with the communal support to look at those things that keep us from God. Both historians and St. Ignatius would agree that not dealing with a problem will only lead to greater problems later on.