Pope Francis celebrated Mass for Ash Wednesday at the Basilica of Santa Sabina on the Aventine Hill in Rome.
In his homily, the Pope said Lent is a time to receive God's breath of life, a breath that saves humanity from suffocating under the weight of selfishness, indifference and piety devoid of sincerity.
"Lent is the time to say no to the asphyxia born of relationships that exclude, that try to find God while avoiding the wounds of Christ present in the wounds of his brothers and sisters," the Pope said on March 1 during an Ash Wednesday Mass.
