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Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks – come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning. (Joel 2:12).
Each year, the Ash Wednesday call from the prophet Joel heralds the commencement of Lent. This is the Lenten call on offer to us - to return to the One from whom all our blessings flow. Our return invites us to think deeply: about ourselves, our lives and our community. To keep time with God, focusing on what gives our worldly pilgrimage meaning.
Our spiritual and practical Lenten habits can offer a counter-rhythm to the fractured state of our world. When we pray with the Lenten readings, we are drawn into humble introspection which can provide insight into how we are in the world. Perhaps it reminds us of the need to reach out to others — to make peace, to be generous with what we have. Through this self-reflection, our hearts become more open to goodness, our eyes are fixed more closely on the Lord, allowing us to give more freely and recommit ourselves to the path of generosity, kindness and peace.
Many in our community face personal challenges – grief, loss, deep disappointment. Our own lives can provide fertile ground for seeds of renewal. We can take inspiration across the Diocese of Sale this year as over one hundred adults will be baptised and received into the Church this Easter – the Holy Spirit stirs in those who search. Across our parishes we will accompany our catechumens and candidates as they move toward the waters of baptism, reflecting deeply upon the Gospels of St John and three Sundays of Scrutiny. Are we ready to drink of the living water always on offer from a loving and merciful God? Can we allow the Lord to heal our blindness? Can we hear the voice of Jesus who wishes to set us free from all that binds us? We can be assured the Lord sees us in our struggles. God is with us in our stumbling always calling us to a new way of life. Perhaps part of our Lenten practice this year is a call to experience the sacrament of reconciliation and to hear the reassuring words, “Go forth you are set free.”
We know the gift of peace is a precious gift which so many across the globe do experience: so many lives of innocent people beset by turmoil and violence they did not choose. This year, in recognition of the 800th anniversary of St Francis’ death, Pope Leo XIV has proclaimed a special Franciscan jubilee year. This special jubilee aims to honour St Francis’s legacy and to encourage in us a desire to follow St Francis:
...may the example and spiritual legacy of this Saint, strong in faith, steadfast in hope and ardent in active charity towards his neighbour, inspire in everyone the importance of trusting in the Lord, of living a life faithful to the Gospel, and of accepting and illuminating every circumstance and action of life with faith and prayer.
(Pope Leo, Letter of the Holy Father Leo XIV to the Ministers General of the Conference of the Franciscan Family on the Occasion of the Opening of the Eighth Centenary of the Death of St Francis of Assisi, January 2026).
This is part of our Lenten call. To pray and work for peace. To reflect deeply about our call to discipleship. To respond with practical generosity - and I commend the work of CARITAS - Project Compassion to you in this regard.
We are encouraged not to rush, but to walk toward Easter with greater honesty, generosity, and a prayerful heart open to renewal as missionary disciples. To come back to the One who is the source of all blessing.
May the peace of a grace-filled Lent be with you.
