At Curia retreat, Bishop Varden warns of Gospel’s use ‘as a weapon in culture wars’
The Lenten season is a reminder that Christians are called to bear witness to Christ through authentic witness, not self-righteous indignation, Norwegian Trappist Bishop Erik Varden told the pope and Vatican officials.
In his first reflection, titled “Entering Lent,” at the start of the Roman Curia’s annual Lenten retreat Feb. 22, Bishop Varden said that faithfulness to Christ’s example and commandments are the “distinguishing mark of Christian authenticity.”
“The extent of the peace we embody — that exemplary peace ‘which the world cannot give’ — bears witness to the constant presence of Jesus within us. It is important to insist on this point at a time when the Gospel is so often instrumentalized as a weapon in culture wars,” the bishop said.
“Every manipulation of Christian words and symbols for other purposes must be vigorously challenged. At the same time, it is important to correct mistaken ideas not only by opposing them with indignation, but by teaching and showing what authentic spiritual struggle truly consists of,” he said.
The Norwegian Trappist bishop of Trondheim was chosen by Pope Leo XIV to preach at the Lenten retreat in the Pauline Chapel. The Feb. 22-27 retreat reflected on the theme, “Illuminated by a Hidden Glory.”
In his meditation, Bishop Varden said the Lenten season “leads us into a material and symbolic space freed from what is superfluous” and allows Christians to “embrace a period of abstinence from the senses.”
Bearing witness to Christ, Bishop Varden continued, means highlighting the fact that “Christian peace is not a promise of an easy life” but rather “the condition for a transformed society.”
Recalling a series of sermons on “Qui habitat” (“He who dwells”), a liturgical chant by St. Bernard of Clairvaux that is traditionally sung on the first Sunday of Lent, Bishop Varden said the 12th-century Cistercian monk addressed “what it means to live in grace as we fight evil, foster good, uphold truth and follow the path of the exodus from slavery toward the promised land.”
Following that path, he added, must be done “without turning aside either to the right or to the left” but rather “remaining in peace, aware that beneath what can sometimes seem like walking a razor’s edge ‘are the everlasting arms.’”
St. Bernard “invites us to commit ourselves with renewed fervor to a discipleship that is full of love and clear-sighted,” Bishop Varden said.
The 12th-century monk, he said in the reflection Feb. 23, “was, and remains, a fascinating figure” known for being “genuinely humble, devoted to God, capable of tender kindness, a faithful friend — able even to become friends with former enemies — and a convincing witness to God’s love.”
Reflecting on St. Bernard’s teaching on conversion, Bishop Varden said that his understanding of the subject was grounded in “unparalleled biblical culture” and “well-considered theological insights.”
However, his teachings also sprang “from personal struggle, from learning not to take for granted that his own way was always the right one, instructed by experience, by wounds and by provocations to question his presumption and to marvel at the merciful justice of God.”
“Bernard is an excellent companion for anyone undertaking a Lenten exodus from egocentrism and pride, in the desire to pursue the truth about oneself while keeping one’s eyes fixed on the all-illuminating love of God,” Bishop Varden said.
