Pope Leo XIV closed the Vatican’s weeklong Lenten spiritual exercises Friday by thanking retreat preacher Bishop Erik Varden and urging those gathered to live out St. Paul’s exhortation to “behave in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”
Speaking at the conclusion of the retreat in the Pauline Chapel on Feb. 27, the pope said Varden’s preaching helped the pope and members of the Roman Curia live “a profound, spiritual” experience at the beginning of Lent, starting Sunday with reflections on “the temptations” and moving through themes including St. Bernard and monastic life.
Leo said he found himself “particularly invited to reflect” at certain moments, including Varden’s recounting of St. Bernard’s reaction to the election of Pope Eugene III: “What have you done? May God have mercy on you.”
The pope also recalled celebrating Mass in the same chapel last May 8 — the day of his election as pope — pointing to an inscription from St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, “For to me life is Christ and death is gain,” and said that gathering for prayer during the retreat was an important moment amid the many issues facing the Church.
Leo noted several themes from the week, including a reference to St. John Henry Newman and “The Dream of Gerontius,” which he said uses death and judgment as a prism for confronting fear of death and unworthiness before God. Returning to Philippians after Varden’s final reflection on hope, the pope quoted Paul’s call to live “in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ,” describing it as the Word of God’s invitation at the end of the retreat.
He thanked Varden for his “wisdom” and witness, as well as the Office for Liturgical Celebrations and the choir, saying music aids prayer in a way words cannot.
Earlier Friday, Varden delivered the retreat’s final two talks — the 10th and 11th meditations — focusing on the Cross, hope, and the Church’s task of proclaiming Christ in the modern world.
In the morning meditation, Varden drew on St. Bernard of Clairvaux’s treatise On Consideration, written for a fellow monk who later became Pope Eugene III. Bernard’s “consideration,” Varden said, involves seeking truth in contingent human affairs. Rather than proposing institutional fixes, Bernard urged the pope to surround himself with good collaborators marked by “proven sanctity, ready obedience, and quiet patience,” people “inclined towards peace, and desirous of unity,” and “farsighted in counsel.”
Varden said Bernard saw these qualities as perennial for Church leadership, adding that a prelate must be principled, holy, and austere — but also “the Bridegroom’s friend,” delighting to share that friendship with others.
Varden also quoted St. Augustine’s image of episcopal office as a burden: it is fearful, he said, only “if we fail to notice who puts the burden on our shoulders,” because it is a share in Christ’s “sweet yoke,” enabling pastors to discover that the cross entrusted to them “is luminous and light,” and that sharing it can be joyful.
In the afternoon meditation, Varden turned to the Second Vatican Council and St. John XXIII’s opening address, saying the council set the Church the task of proclaiming Christ “clearly and compellingly” as the answer to the age’s urgent questions “without compromising for a moment the sacred deposit of doctrine.”
From there, he argued that Christian hope is not the same as optimism. “To have Christian hope is not necessarily to be an optimist,” he said, describing hope as a determined choice for reality rather than wishful thinking. He pointed to the Passion as the place where God is “at his most active,” and said the hope entrusted to Christians is ultimately rooted in resurrection and “a new heaven” and “a new earth.”
Varden warned against the temptation to market “a happier Gospel” in a culture that, he said, repurposes sacred spaces for entertainment while many young people voice a deep sense of being wounded. He said Christ’s Passion “lets us lament without rage,” opening the way to compassion and to a recognition that wounds are not final.
“The symbol of Christ’s Passion is not one we engender,” he said. “It has been given us. It interprets us, not we it.”
Varden concluded by returning to St. Bernard’s preaching on the eve of Easter, presenting Christian life as a “continuous Lent” oriented toward Christ’s victory over death — and toward a hope of glory that is already hidden within present trials.
A Vatican statement said Varden’s retreat conferences are expected to be published at the end of March as a book.
This story was first published in two parts by ACI Stampa, the Italian-language sister service of EWTN News, and has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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