VATICAN CITY — Like the people of Israel freed from the bondage of slavery, Christians are called to experience the path toward hope and new life in the Lenten season, Pope Francis said.

Through His passion, death and resurrection, Jesus "has opened up for us a way that leads to a full, eternal and blessed life," the pope said at his weekly general audience March 1, Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent for Latin-rite Catholics.

"Lent lives within this dynamic: Christ precedes us with His exodus and we cross the desert, thanks to Him and behind Him," he said.

On a warm and sunny morning, the pope held his audience in St. Peter's Square. Arriving in the popemobile, he immediately spotted a group of children and signaled several of them to come aboard for a ride. One by one, the three girls and one boy climbed into the popemobile and warmly embraced the pope.

In his main audience talk, the pope said that while Lent is a time of "penance and even mortification," it is also "a time of hope" for Christians awaiting Christ's resurrection to "renew our baptismal identity."

The story of the Israelites' journey toward the Promised Land and God's faithfulness during times of trial and suffering helps Christians "better understand" the Lenten experience, he said.

"This whole path is fulfilled in hope, the hope of reaching the (Promised) Land and precisely in this sense it is an 'exodus,' a way out from slavery to freedom," the pope said. "Every step, every effort, every trial, every fall and every renewal has meaning only within the saving plan of God, who wants for His people life and not death, joy and not sorrow."

To open this path toward the freedom of eternal life, he continued, Jesus gave up the trappings of His glory, choosing humility and obedience.

However, the pope said that Christ's sacrifice on the cross doesn't mean "He has done everything" and "we go to heaven in a carriage."

"It isn't like that. Our salvation is surely His gift, but because it is a love story, it requires our 'yes' and our participation, as shown to us by our mother Mary and after her, all the saints," he said.

Lent, he added, is lived through the dynamic that "Christ precedes us through His exodus," and that through His victory Christians are called to "nourish this small flame that was entrusted to us on the day of our baptism."

"It is certainly a challenging path as it should be, because love is challenging, but it is a path full of hope," Pope Francis said. 

Pope: Bravely tackle hardship knowing God will never let you down

VATICAN CITY — When life gets difficult, trust in God and don't worry unnecessarily about tomorrow, Pope Francis said.

"Trusting in Him doesn't magically solve problems, but it allows for facing them with the right spirit — courageously," he said before praying the Angelus with those gathered in St. Peter's Square Feb. 26.

"I am brave because I trust in my father who cares for everything and loves me very much."

The pope's reflection looked at the day's Gospel reading (Matthew 6:24-34) in which Jesus tells His disciples to "not worry about your life," what to wear and what to eat. Instead, look at how God provides for the wild flowers and animals, and learn from them that worrying will not "add a single moment to your life-span," the passage reads.

Too much worrying "risks taking serenity and balance away" from one's life, the pope said. "Often this anxiety is pointless because it is unable to change the course of events."

God "is our shelter, the source of our serenity and our peace. He is the rock of our salvation," he said.

"Whoever holds onto God never falls. He is our defense against evil that always lies in ambush," the pope added.

Many people do not realize or they deny that God is a "great friend, ally, father," making this a world of "orphans" who would rather seek security in or show "an excessive love" for earthly goods and wealth, he said.

God never lets His children down, the pope explained, and it is this awareness that helps people overcome "the torment, the adversity in life, even persecution, like so many of our brothers and sisters show us."

— Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service