03/01/2023

The Church has just begun its 40 day preparation leading up to Holy Week and on to Easter. Many see it as a trial, imagining that it is mostly about giving things up, denying oneself enjoyable things, or getting stressed while taking on too many wishes to read more of the bible, pray more regularly and so on. Well the good news is that this isn’t the only Lent, they come around every year, and it isn’t a competition, small steps that last are going to help us the most. Challenging the things that distract us from our relationship with others and God is important, as is remembering that we don’t do this alone, and that we are not alone in trying to make changes in our lives this Lent. Lent happens in a context each year, and for many this is a very hard time – in Turkey and Syria where the earthquake has caused such devastation, in the Ukraine where the war has now gone on for over a year, and for those closer to home who are struggling with the cost of living crisis, and many other post-covid problems. The Christian message at its heart urges us to find ourselves in our concern for the lives of others, charity in its fullest sense is what will lead us toward the central message of Easter, that ‘God so loved the world that He sent His only Son, not to condemn the world, but that through Him the world might have life’ I wish you a rewarding Lenten journey. Fr Richard