SACBC President Cardinal Stephen Brislin calls on Christians in Southern Africa to embrace humility and repentance during the Lenten Season.
Newsroom (19/02/2026 Gaudium Press) In his Lenten reflection ahead of Ash Wednesday, the President of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC), Stephen Cardinal Brislin, has cautioned the faithful against arrogance and pride, urging the people of God in Botswana, Eswatini, and South Africa to embrace humility as a path toward both personal and societal renewal.
Reflecting on the origins of human sin, Cardinal Brislin described arrogance and pride as the fundamental roots of humanity’s fall. “The sins of Adam and Eve, our parents, were the sins of arrogance and pride,” he said, lamenting that the same tendencies persist in modern society. “If we look around in the world today, there’s simply so much arrogance, so much pride. Perhaps we are guilty of that as well at times.”
The Local Ordinary of South Africa’s Catholic Archdiocese of Johannesburg emphasized that Lent should not only mark a period of individual spiritual growth but also serve as a collective effort to build a culture of humility within communities. “If we are humble and have a culture of humility in society, then we recognize our need for each other. If we can humbly work together, we can truly create something good,” he said.
Cardinal Brislin further encouraged Christians to see the Lenten Season as an opportunity for transformation. “Lent is this personal time of renewing our lives, of turning once again to God, of strengthening our prayer life, but it is also a time of saying we work for a new society and we work for a culture of humility in society,” he explained.
Highlighting the symbolic significance of Ash Wednesday, the cardinal said the ashes are “a symbol of mortification” — a tangible reminder of the human need to repent and return to God. “It’s very important that we take this time of rest, a time of looking at ourselves, and a time to really try to renew our spiritual lives,” he remarked. “To renew our commitment to live a Christian life, to live a life that is filled with God’s Holy Spirit.”
Brislin underscored that repentance during Lent is not only an acknowledgment of sin but also a recognition of humanity’s dependency on God. “When we say we are repenting, of course, we are repenting for our sinfulness,” he said. “But I think it’s also a greater recognition of emptiness in our lives. That somehow, as human beings, we are incomplete. We need God in our lives. We need Jesus Christ in our lives. We cannot save our own lives.”
The SACBC President closed his reflection with a prayerful hope that the Lenten journey will bear spiritual fruit and prepare believers to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ with faith renewed. “May these weeks of Lent be a time of particular fruitfulness for you,” he implored. “And may God come close to you so that as we near the Easter season, we will be able to celebrate and rejoice in the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
- Raju Hasmukh with files from ACI Africa
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