Welcome this holy season

Lent begins with much to think about. At home the state of the economy, the strikes in the public services, the continuing cost of living crisis, all remain unresolved. Abroad the war in Ukraine seems far from resolution, the aftermath of the earthquake in Turkey and Syria is palpable; it seems that we are being challenged from all sides, with solutions a long time arriving. Our faith, and its place within the interplay of all these issues, must speak loudly to us as a guide and a response which directs our Lenten practice. Ash Wednesday spoke to us clearly and unequivocally. The mark of the ash on our foreheads must be more than a symbol. The gospel message of fasting, prayer and alms giving needs to be put into practice as much as we can in these coming days. So how can we engage in such a way as to make our witness both meaningful and visible?

All three are in one sense a demonstration of our solidarity with each other. What we are experiencing we do so together and not in isolation. We come together to pray, we share our experiences with the community and with the Lord. Nowhere is this more visible than at the Eucharistic celebration, the “source and the summit” of our Christian witness. It is before the Eucharist that we fast as we open ourselves up to the grace of the sacrament. Into the space we create, comes the animating and inspiring power of the Spirit. It directs our prayer in opening our eyes and ears to the needy and the disadvantaged. It moves us to act as we are sent out to announce the gospel of the Lord, through our deeds of generosity and relief. In doing so we share Christ’s love beyond the confines of our own comfort, causing us to reach out and become aware of others whose want is so great.

This is the challenge of Lent. Let us listen carefully to the gospel on each Sunday and then, during each week, let us pick a day in which we can do our best to live out one of those three actions of fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. This Sunday the gospel features the temptation of Jesus in the desert. As we go through this week, let’s make a concrete effort to resist temptation, let us pray about the impact it will have upon us and of how it may change us, to act in a way that helps us to give ourselves more freely to the work of Christ, in the healing of our wounded world.