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Lent began last Wednesday and we were reminded that there is no better time than the present to turn to God for forgiveness and to forgive others. Lent is the ideal time to renew our commitment to the church and to live lives of faith, service, sacrifice and love. Let us all seek the courage to act and respond NOW as you read this!, not tomorrow or next week.

Pope Francis encourages us with sayings such as these: “Sister, brother, even if you buried hope in your heart, don’t give up. God is sweeter. Darkness and death do not have the last word. Courage, with God nothing is lost!”

“Faith begins when we realise we are in need of salvation. We are not self-sufficient; by ourselves we flounder: we need the Lord, like ancient navigators needed the stars. Let us invite Jesus into the boats of our lives. Let us hand over our fears to him so that he can conquer them.”

Some prayers for use in Lent: 1. Loving Lord, help each one of us to set an example to others in following you with trust, so that all may see how our chief shepherd, who suffered for us, is the Son of the living God. Amen. 2. Dear Lord, whatever we choose to go without this Lent, may it serve as a reminder to draw closer to you in prayer and petition with thanksgiving for all that you give us. Amen.

Finally to lighten the content: “Two boys were walking home from church and sharing their reflection on the lesson. They had been studying the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. Little Peter said to his friend John, “Do you believe that stuff about the devil? Do you think there really is a devil?” John looked at him and said, “Naah, it’s just like Santa Claus — it’s your dad.” 

With my love and prayers for you this Lent.

We begin each Station of the Cross with the prayer “We adore thee  O Christ and we praise thee, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the World”.  The Stations of the Cross can be a very important devotional prayer in our lives, but especially during Lent.  Our human story, the journey of life.  A memory in my life is from the beginning of Lent in my first year at the seminary.   The president decided that he would give us a good introduction to Lent by leading us on the Stations of the Cross.  He began by giving us a lecture on their great importance, and that as seminarians this devotion should be at the centre of our lives.  Then he began “oops” he went to the last station first, the 14th …… of course there must be someone to blame…… ok yes the acolytes.

So for us to begin.  The first station “We adore thee O Christ and we praise thee, because by your Holy Cross you have redeemed the world”.  Jesus is condemned to death.  This is part of a great reality.  We are all condemned to death.  A reality.  Here at St Wilfrid’s we had a great shock with the tragic sudden death of Hannah Hoad, a young parishioner.  It is honest and sincere she was “a real treasure”, obviously for her family and especially her parents David and Anne.  In spite of her handicaps she was a bundle of life with attitude, able to stand up for herself, full of life, mischief and fun.  Some of our elderly parishioners had lovely things to say about her over the years.

Then at St George’s Church we had a very special funeral celebration for Ronald and Monica Williams who died together in Eastbourne Hospital from the coronavirus.  Their son Ed gave us a heartfelt story of their life, and as we streamed the service we will place their story on our website.  Summed up in the words of their son “Ron and Moni were inseparable for 60 years, they devoted their lives to their 3 children, David, Edward and Anna, and they were just as in love on their last day together as they were on their wedding day.  They did everything together, they cared and loved and fought for their children together, they grieved together, found the strength to go on together, and finally they died together, and they will be together forever”.  So, as we place our lives at the foot of the cross, preparing to make the stations of the cross as part of the journey of life this Lent.   We make it our great desire that the journey of our lives will bare much fruit, fruit that will last.  Then one our Father, one Hail Mary, one Glory to be it Father.

As you are likely already aware, the UK Government has temporarily allowed home abortions.

Since home abortions were temporarily allowed, as has been reported extensively in the media, a number of significant problems have put the lives and health of many women in danger. 

The UK Government has launched a consultation on whether to make permanent the current temporary arrangement allowing ‘DIY’ home abortions. The consequences of this measure would be devastating to the care and protection of both unborn babies and their mothers. It is vital that as many people as possible take part to ensure the voices of the most vulnerable are heard. 

Right To Life UK has set up an easy-to-use tool on their website that makes it simple to complete your submission.. If you would like to take part and make a submission to this consultation before it closes at 11:59pm on 26 February 2021, you can do so by visiting the link below. It only takes 2 minutes!

Respond to the UK Government’s consultation on ‘DIY’ home abortion

TO OUR CATHOLIC UNIVERSE AND CATHOLIC TIMES READERS IN THE PARISH:- at the moment you are unable to collect your paper at Mass, but you can get it delivered direct to your home every week, POST FREE.   Please go to www.thecatholicuniverse.com or call them on 0161 820 5722 and they will arrange for you.

SPECIAL OFFER 3 MONTHS :-                £25.00

SPECIAL OFFER  12 Months:-                   £99.00

DIGITAL COPY:- 12 Months:                     £55.00

OR

DIGITAL COPY/AND HARD COPY FOR:- £115.00  (EASTER SPECIAL OFFER)

CAFOD:  This Lent, CAFOD invites you and the whole Catholic community of England and Wales to join the Big Walk for Water virtual event.  Help give the boot to water poverty across the world by walking a 5-mile route on Saturday 20th February at 2pm.  Could you Walk for Water as a personal Lenten challenge by walking 10,000 steps a day, every day, for 40 days?  Find out more at cafod.org.uk/walk

Fr Jimmy Buckley, who spent many summers covering St George’s will be streaming Mass from Esker Monastery on Saturday 13th February at 10am and Sunday 14th February at 11am.  He knows many of you will be watching.  Google Esker Monastery, Galway and you will find him there.

2021

It’s now two thousand and twenty one ,we know the virus still hasn’t  gone 

But nearly a year has passed us by, we cope with it all with a great big sigh 

We wear our masks and stay at home, even though we would love to roam 

Keeping to rules and keeping apart sometimes it feels it will break your heart

But progress is happening, that’s really fab! Vaccines on offer so go for you’re jab!

We look to the future with positive air, and bless NH staff who give us such care 

We will not be beaten, we’ll stay really, really brave, clearing out cupboards (what shall we save!)

Contact each other by email and phone, so nobody feels that they are alone 

Lockdown is staying, no doubt about that, lazing around we might put on fat! 

But what does it matter with friends all around, looking out for each other with feet on the ground               By Ross

Pastoral Letter:  for the 14th February 2021 (6th Sunday in Ordinary Time) can be found on our website www.saintsgeorgeandwilfrid.co.uk  under News & Events.

Since this coming Sunday is Valentine Day I thought I would delve into the Internet to see what I could find about St. Valentine. The following is a summary of what I found.

Valentine of Rome was a widely recognised 3rd-century Roman saint, commemorated in Christianity on February 14.  Since around the 10th century his Saint’s Day has been associated with a tradition of courtly love.  Around this time it was believed that birds paired in mid-February and this was then associated with the romance of Valentine. Although these legends differ, Valentine’s Day is widely recognised as a day for romance and devotion. Relics of him were kept in the Church and Catacombs of San Valentino in Rome, which “remained an important pilgrim site throughout the Middle Ages until the relics of St. Valentine were transferred to the church of Santa Prassede during the pontificate of Nicholas IV“. His skull, crowned with flowers, is exhibited in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome; other relics of him were taken to Whitefriar Street Carmelite Church in Dublin, Ireland, where they remain; this church continues to be a popular place of pilgrimage, especially on Saint Valentine’s Day, for those seeking love. 

St. Valentine is included in the Roman Martyrology of the Church and February 14th was celebrated as a Feast day in the liturgy on this date until 1955 when Pope Pius XII reduced it to a commemoration within another celebration. 14 years later there was a major revision of the church calendar when it was removed completely except for a small number of places where there was a special reason for inclusion, such as a church dedicated to St. Valentine.  With my love and prayers.

Last week I highlighted the coming of Spring.  New life and a fresh window of opportunity.  To begin with it is a challenge; a challenge of the highest order because of the current climate.  There is no magic process to be called upon.

So it is most appropriate that we are presented in the life of the church with the season of Lent.  The Stations of the Cross have traditionally been an important part of Lenten preparation and devotions.  A memory in my life, is one of my dad doing the Stations of the Cross all the way through Lent.  Because he was very crippled by arthritis, suffering great pain, it was a powerful witness to his faith and the strength that he received from it.

In the wider picture the coronavirus is very crippling, a source of suffering and affliction, many isolated in their sufferings, and people left feeling powerless and not sure what to do for the best.  The constant feedback from the media and also from the immediate environment is anything but helpful.  Normally we could turn to the church for strength and support, but our celebration of funerals highlights the reality of our time.  There have been good moments, and streaming services, meetings and Masses have been a welcome introduction.  But the immediate circumstances of our life means that we cannot satisfactorily feel that what was achieved was good enough, or indeed very helpful.  At the same time they do provide moments of grace and a sense of “the best we can do in the circumstances”.

Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, and so it leaves us with immediate decision, thanks be to God.  The vaccination programme with its successful roll out is going very well.  I am grateful to have received my first vaccination and I am very at ease and pleased with the protection that it has given me.  My ears are also full of its limitations that I do not deny.  But with options and choices remaining “stay safe and protect each other”, I am ready to move on within its limitations.  So the ashes which were part and parcel of my childhood school.  The headmaster from when we were five or six year olds distributing them to the whole school.  “Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return”, repeated and repeated, “Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return”, until everyone in the school was done, and then it was the question, who got the biggest daub?

So here we are today.  For many of us who could avail of the great gift of streaming Spiritual Communion has become an important focus.  So our Mass for Ash Wednesday sets the stage for our spiritual process and please God, with one step at a time we will return to near normal circumstances.