A message from Fr Stephen
Dear Friends, It was truly wonderful to see so many people at our Ash Wednesday services at the end of last month: marking the beginning of Lent in church, being reminded of our mortality and God’s everlasting love is something that grounds us in our Christian faith and in our shared humanity. Please, even if you were not able to attend on Ash Wednesday, endeavour to observe Lent properly. If we exclude Sundays, there are 40 days in Lent for us and all Christians to Fast, Pray and Give Alms. If we wish to be a healthy church, we must observe practices that will make us and keep us healthy - observing the seasons we have been given, with their own special emphases, enables us to grow in our vocation to be the Body of Christ. The old practice of “giving something up” has much to recommend it and certainly doesn’t prevent people from “doing something more”. If we Fast from something we enjoy, whether it be certain a food, drink or activity we will regularly be faced with the decision to give into temptation or not to. It may sound trivial if all it is is a chocolate biscuit we’re avoiding (or giving in to), but the brief pang of temptation avoided is a small step in a spiritual exercise that reminds us of the temptation of Jesus and of greater temptations we and others may face. Avoiding the temptation may require a diversionary activity, like a prayer, to keep us on track. There is so much that we don’t need and Lent is a time to remind ourselves that we depend wholly on the goodness of God. So please Fast from something. Extra events are planned throughout Lent to help us develop our discipline of Prayer. Monday afternoons in St Paul’s, Wednesday evenings in St Mary’s and Stations of the Cross on Fridays, together with the regular round of Masses and daily prayer (9am and 4pm in St Mary’s Monday to Friday) are there for us all. Prayer is the oxygen of Christian life. Our Fasting and Praying naturally draws us towards other people and their needs: Giving Alms is the third essential element to a good and holy Lent. This year, we will be collecting for Barnados to support the work they do with vulnerable children in the UK. Extra collections will be taken every Sunday, but you can give at other times too. “Hear us O Lord, have mercy upon us: for we have sinned against thee.”
Fr Stephen
Lent, Holy Week and Easter The following extra devotional services will be offered throughout the season of Lent:
Holy Week begins on Palm Sunday, 5th April.
Please make every effort to be in Church for Palm Sunday, the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday and for the Liturgy of the Cross on Good Friday: together, with Easter Sunday, they form the very heart of our Christian faith and are days of obligation for Christians. The Day of Resurrection: Easter Sunday
Some Dates for your diaries
ALSO
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