Lent 2003

01 March 2003

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ

On Wednesday we begin the season of Lent, a time for renewal and taking stock of where we are in our relationship with God and with one another. Lent is a serious time but also a favourable one. As the prophet Joel reminds us, it is a time to return to God with all our heart – the symbolic place of the inner person. The call to change is radical not superficial.

We are to be ambassadors for Christ and the message we hear and the message we are to live is: Be reconciled to God. We can only be reconciled to God, if at the same time, we are trying to be reconciled to one another. Where do I need to be reconciled in my relationships? Where do we, as communities, need to be reconciled and how are we trying to be a people of reconciliation?

The message of reconciliation is at present all the more important as we seem to be moving towards armed conflict. The Gospel is about Peace but Peace is only real if it is accompanied by Justice. To follow Christ is to work for Peace and to love Justice.

War is destructive of relationships and can create or intensify prejudice and division. War, if it occurs, is a story of human failure and as Pope John Paul says, a defeat for humanity. Even if there is war, people must still pray and work for peace and seek an end to hostilities as soon as possible.

One of the groups who may feel very vulnerable at present are our Muslim brothers and sisters in this country. As we begin Lent we need to reaffirm our commitment to inter-faith dialogue and on a local level, to extend a hand of friendship to all who are our neighbours. If we are to be ambassadors for reconciliation, we cannot be happy at the creation of barriers that can lead to fear and perhaps to more violence.

The traditional focuses in Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. The three go together. Prayer is essential to the Christian life because in prayer we open ourselves to the presence of God and God leads us to be more aware of others. One good way to pray is to take the Lenten Sunday Gospel and use it as a basis for prayer throughout the week. The word of God becomes formative in our lives.

Fasting is not popular but it is a way of denying our selfish ambitions and desires and again making us more sensitive to the needs of others. The true Lenten fast is a fast from sin and selfishness and this finds expression in a fast from food and drink.

To be sensitive to others leads us, both individually and as communities, to want to do something for those in need. Almsgiving is about giving freely and generously of what we have and sharing with others whose quality of life may be less than our own.

On Ash Wednesday we will hear the words: Turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel. That is the challenge for us all. It is a challenge to renew ourselves. It is a challenge that is life giving and the life is of God which we celebrate at Easter.

With my best wishes and prayers
Bishop of Clifton

This letter to be read or made available in all Churches and Chapels in the Diocese for the weekend of 1 and 2 March 2003