Just a few days ago, we commenced Lent, a favorable and graceful time. As Saint Paul exhorted us, let us not allow this time of grace to pass in vain, for now is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2).

Today, we commemorate 102 years since the birth of the Servant of God, Mother Carla Borgheri. She provided each of us with a model of life following Christ, even in suffering. Emphasizing the importance of interior life and intimacy with Jesus, Mother Carla exemplified facing suffering and carrying the crosses of everyday life with Jesus. Mother Carla wrote: “Let us commit ourselves and make the aim of our life to follow Jesus, even when our hearts are filled with bitterness as His was in the Garden of Olives”.

Mother Carla called us to live out our commitment in concrete actions, not merely in empty words in daily life. While we all have existing plans for studies, work, personal commitments, and community projects, we also aspire to live more intimately with Jesus during this season of Lent. What must we do, for the love of Jesus? It’s not always about grand gestures like giving alms or fasting. Rather, it’s about something simpler. If we do it with love for Jesus, it becomes significant in the eyes of God and helps our brothers and sisters around us. As Mother Carla said: “Sometimes it doesn’t take much to lift those who are suffering – a smile, a kind word, a small act that expresses the love within us, the willingness to forget ourselves and become small so that others can grow and become strong”.

What we can do may seem small, but with Jesus, we are never alone. He is always there to help us. So, let each of us take up our baggage and begin our journey to Calvary, knowing that with Jesus by our side, the burden becomes lighter and the path becomes sweeter.