【慈幼通訊社 ─ 2026 年2月17日梵蒂岡訊】 ─ 聆聽、齋戒、共聚：這是教宗良十四世向所有信友提出的四旬期皈依之旅的三大支柱。他透過聖座新聞發布的文告提醒我們，這段時間可以成為「將天主的奧秘重新置於我們生活的中心」的良機。
教宗開宗明義說：「每一次皈依之旅都始於我們允許自己被聖言觸動，並以謙卑的心靈迎接它。」他強調，正是我們越是歡迎聖言和神聖的恩寵，它就越有能力發揮作用，改變我們的生活。
因此，聆聽聖言是開啟認真皈依之旅的第一步。另外，良十四世指出，「聆聽也是天主的獨特特徵」，祂時時刻刻關注受壓迫者的呼求。教宗引用出谷紀（3:7）：「我看見我百姓在埃及所受的痛苦，也聽見了他們的哀號。」因此，他邀請信友效法天主，正如天主聆聽並關愛窮人一樣，基督徒也被派遣去「認識『窮人的境況代表著一種呼求，在人類歷史上，這種呼求是我們生活的挑戰』」。
聆聽之後的下一步是齋戒，這是古代的苦行，其目的是「辨別和約束我們的食慾」，但最重要的是，它使我們能夠「擴大我們的願望」，「使其轉向天主，並致力於行善」。
從這個意義上講，教宗在重申了身體齋戒的有效性和益處之後，也勸勉我們進行一種比喻性的齋戒，即「停止使用傷害近人的言語」。因此，他邀請我們「解除語言的武裝」，因為他確信，如此一來，「許多仇恨的言語將讓位於希望與和平的言語」。
最後，教宗強調了聆聽聖言和齋戒的團體性──若缺乏這種團體性，任何善意都可能使人驕傲自滿。因此，祂邀請我們共同聆聽聖言、齋戒，踏上一段共同的旅程，在這段旅程中，「聆聽天主聖言，以及聆聽窮人和大地的呼聲，成為一種共同生活的方式，而齋戒則有助於真正的悔改」。
Vatican – Holy Father’s message for Lent 2026: Listening, Fasting and Together for true conversion
(ANS – Rome –RMG, 17 February 2026) – (ANS – Vatican City) – Listening, fasting, together: these are the three fundamental pillars on which one can base the journey of conversion during Lent proposed by Pope Leo XIV to all the faithful. His message, published by the Holy See Press Office, reminds us that this time can be a favourable opportunity to ‘put the mystery of God back at the centre of our lives’.
‘Every journey of conversion begins when we allow ourselves to be reached by the Word and welcome it with docility of spirit,’ the Pontiff begins, emphasising that it is precisely to the extent that we welcome the Word and divine grace that it has the power to work and transform people’s lives.
For this reason, listening to the Word is the first step in beginning a serious journey of conversion. On the other hand, Leo XIV points out that ‘listening is a distinctive trait’ of God as well, who is attentive to the cries of the oppressed. ‘I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry’ (Ex 3:7), quotes the Holy Father, who therefore invites the faithful to imitate God’s example and, just as He listens and cares for the poor, so too are Christians sent ‘to recognise that “the condition of the poor represents a cry that, in the history of humanity, constantly challenges our lives”’.
The next step after listening is fasting, an ancient ascetic practice that serves ‘to discern and order our appetites,’ but above all, allows us to ‘expand our desire’ ‘so that it turns to God and is oriented towards doing good.’
In this sense, after reiterating the effectiveness and goodness of fasting that involves the body, the Holy Father also exhorts us to a metaphorical fast, that of ‘words that strike and wound our neighbour’. His is, therefore, an invitation to ‘disarm language’, in the certainty that in this way, ‘many words of hatred will give way to words of hope and peace’.
Finally, the Pope emphasises the communal dimension of listening to the Word and practising fasting – without which any good intention risks making the heart proud. Thus, he invites us to share listening and fasting, in a joint journey in which ‘listening to the Word of God, as well as to the cry of the poor and of the earth, becomes a form of common life and fasting supports real repentance’.
The complete message of Pope Leo XIV is available in various languages here.