There are some infirm people who understand the meaning of suffering and are aware of the opportunities they have been given to contribute to the salvation of the world-and so they accept their life of pain as Jesus Christ accepted his, as most holy Mary accepted hers on the Feast of her Purification, and as her chaste and faithful husband Joseph accepted his. Thanks be to God, not all souls turn rebellious under the burden of pain. For in the Cross we find strength and salvation, and in the love of Christ there is no life without suffering. We have forgotten that pain is a legacy we have inherited from Adam we have forgotten that the only real evil is sin, which offends the Lord, and that we must look to the Cross of Jesus as the Apostles, martyrs, saints, teachers and witnesses looked to it. Many of us are inclined to think of all the physical sufferings of this world as evils, absolute evils. May I learn something from you at this time, so that Easter Day may mark another step forward in the path of virtue, of union and glorification of the spirit with you. O Jesus, I join you in spirit as you fast in the wilderness for forty days and with prayer prepare for your public life.

Lent: this means seriousness, temperance, mortification, recollection, prayer. College students and other 20-somethings may discover a tone and depth of spirituality in the Good Pope's writings:

From two yellowed and marked up books by Pope John XXIII ( Journal of a Soul and Prayers and Devotions) come these exhortations. Lent makes me want to search out writers who can inspire me to cooperate with the great grace of metanoia that the Lenten season may bring, a prelude to Easter. One of the nice things about blogging is that you can write out your own thoughts or bring others directly to articles or direct passages by others.

Journal of a Soul by Pope John XXIII