Say “Christianity” and “Middle East” to people who’ve been paying attention to events in the region, the and next word that would automatically come to mind for most probably would be “extinction.”

By now, the statistics on the collapse of the Christian population in the Middle East are wearily familiar. The situation is worse in the war-torn nations of Iraq and Syria, for obvious reasons, than in historic Christian strongholds such as Egypt and Lebanon, but there too the pressures are strong and the trendlines alarming.

On this day, marked by the austere symbol of ashes, we enter the season of Lent, beginning a spiritual journey that prepares us for celebrating worthily the Easter Mysteries.

There’s a line in a Christian worship song I love that says, “From the head to the heart, you take me on a journey.”

It’s referencing an oft-cited dilemma in the Church, a “separation of the head and heart” -- meaning the things you believe with your mind aren’t fully felt or realized in your soul. In my life, it feels like a precarious balance of thinking the right thing, doing the right thing, and then hoping I'm also feeling the right thing so that my beliefs can be "real".

In the face of hatred, fear, and division, Pope Francis called Sunday, February 23, on the Christian communities of the Mediterranean to recognise the inherent unity of the region’s multiculturalism.

In a message that acclaimed the beauty of diversity in the face of voices seeking to build walls — both literal and figurative — Francis February 23 concluded a five-day long conference in Bari, Italy, that sought to find new roads to peace and stability in the Mediterranean region.

Following is the Vatican-provided full text of the Pope’s Message of Lent 2020:

“We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God” (2 Cor 5:20)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

The coming Wednesday, Christian believers throughout the world will allow themselves to be sprinkled or marked with ashes. It’s an ancient tradition, and yet for the sidewalk observer, it’s a peculiar custom.

Why the ashes? What’s the story here?
Ash Wednesday begins the forty-day penitential season of Lent. The ashes are received and worn as a public declaration that we are sinners, works on progress, and suppliants before the mercy and grace of God.

His Holiness Pope Francis will join the bishops on Sunday 23 February and will preside over the concluding Mass, less than two years after his last visit to the Apulian capital for an ecumenical meeting of reflection and prayer for peace with leaders of the Churches and communities of the Middle East in July 2018.

During the Roman Empire, the entire Mediterranean region was known as Mare Nostrum, “Our Sea.” It was an imperial assertion of dominance, of course, but it also reflected the idea that the peoples of the Mediterranean are linked by geography and destiny, sharing a common fate.

In a nutshell, that’s the same intuition that will carry Pope Francis to the Italian coastal city of Bari on Sunday, to wrap up a Feb. 19-23 assembly of more than 50 Catholic bishops from 19 Mediterranean nations, hosted by the über-powerful Italian bishops’ conference.

"What better agent of chaos is there than a new Messiah?" asks a character in the new Netflix drama series "Messiah" from show creator and writer Michael Petroni and executive producers Mark Burnett and Roma Downey.

Love is the craze of February, especially on February 14 when we see red hearts everywhere, especially in malls. Love is a much used and misused word. People use it often but it can have different meanings for different people.

For some "love" is equivalent to "like," as for example, "I love ice cream" to mean "I like ice cream." So "I love you" can just mean "I like you."