Pope Francis
Share inspiration quotes said by Pope Francis for the Lenten Season. Above, the pontiff is pictured Jan. 16, 2015. Getty Images

The first day of the Lenten season is Ash Wednesday, which is also known as the “Day of Ashes.” In the Christian religion, this marks the start of 40 days and 40 nights of sacrifice. Practicing Christians will “give up” something until Easter, the Holiest day in the religion. To celebrate the beginning of penance, 10 inspirational quotes said by Pope Francis have been provided below, courtesy of Brainy Quote. Check them out:

1. “The confessional is not a torture chamber, but the place in which the Lord's mercy motivates us to do better.”

2. “Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is good... Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them. That would be enough to make the world a better place.”

3. “Wretched are those who are vindictive and spiteful.”

4. "Fasting makes sense if it really chips away at our security and, as a consequence, benefits someone else, if it helps us cultivate the style of the good Samaritan, who bent down to his brother in need and took care of him."

5. "Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy."

6. "Although the life of a person is in a land full of thorns and weeds, there is always a space in which the good seed can grow. You have to trust God.”

7. “I believe in God - not in a Catholic God; there is no Catholic God. There is God, and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation. Jesus is my teacher and my pastor, but God, the Father, Abba, is the light and the Creator. This is my Being.”

8. “A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just.”

9. “We all have the duty to do good.”

10. “We must always walk in the presence of the Lord, in the light of the Lord, always trying to live in an irreprehensible way.”

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