Dear friends in Christ
The Gospel this Sunday
This final Sunday before Lent begins—with the Gospel of the cure of the leper—reminds us of the period of purification that is before us. The Fathers of the Church saw in that poor leper, an allegory of the leprosy that is sin. Jesus alone makes us whole and pure again. During the forty days of Lent we have the annual God-given time for restoring what is lost or broken and dysfunctional in our lives. Any addictions to sin can be purged; any absence of love can be restored and any distance from God can be breached. Jesus comes to us across the centuries of time and space and is with us—especially in the Sacrament of Confession—to heal and restore us to the dignity of being children of God.
Lent and Ash Wednesday
We shall celebrate the usual three Masses on Ash Wednesday and ashes will be distributed but with a slight adaption: because of the need to do this safely—as with Holy Communion—after the ashes are blest, the Priest will recite a generic formula to all present: Repent, and believe in the Gospel or Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return. When we come forward, as for Holy Communion, the Priest will not sign our foreheads but simply sprinkle ash upon our heads. This, in fact, is the ancient tradition of the Church which evolved into the little crosses that we have become familiar with. Ash Wednesday is a Day of Fasting and Abstinence—a day of penance. This means fasting from the usual amount of food we would consume for those aged eighteen to their sixtieth year and abstinence from meat (or some other food) for all others over the age of fourteen. Every Friday of the year is a day of abstinence. By this practise we identify ourselves with Jesus in His suffering and learn self-control.
The Year of St Joseph
Pope Francis has declared this a special year dedicated to St Joseph to commemorate his being declared Patron Saint of the Universal Church; Blessed Pope Pius IX promulgated this in 1870. We are under his special protection here, as he is the secondary Patron of our Parish Family. Throughout the Church there are many lovely prayers and devotions that are being revived to honour this Saint. One of them is to make the Consecration to St Joseph in the way that many make a Consecration to Our Blessed Lady. One of the suggested ways is to do this on his feastday: 19th March. There are thirty-three days of preparation for this using some of the time-honoured prayers of the Church. In our Parish we could do this beginning this Monday, 17th, which will take us up to his feast. Each day I will give a little meditation on his life and virtues, based upon the titles and invocations that we find in his Litany. You might like to have this Litany to hand to follow the reflections and pray it daily: Litany of St Joseph. By this Act of Consecration, we can be sure that St Joseph will draw us closer to Him—for whom he was foster-father—and continues to be the Protector of Holy Mother Church in these days which need his tender loving protection more than ever. St Joseph will also assist us to live a holy and fruitful Lent as we prepare, once more, for the saving mysteries of Our Lord’s life.
God bless you and help you persevere!
Msgr Kevin Hale