2nd Sunday of Lent

Transfiguration is at the heart of Lent. God longs for us to be transfigured into the likeness of His Son. Jesus gives the three Apostles a glimpse of His glory, not only to sustain them through the coming suffering and perplexity of His passion and death, but to deepen their longing to share in His new life and His glory.

Our Lenten exercises should help to deepen our love of the Lord, give us time and opportunity to draw closer to Him, to hear His Voice, and to respond to His call to each one of us individually.

Are we conscious of journeying towards Heaven – or of moving away from the things of God, and remaining earth-bound?
Do I sincerely seek the life of Heaven here and now?

Everything we think, do or say (or what we don’t think, do or say – our sins of omission) either moves us a step nearer to God and to the life of Heaven, or a step further from Him and from Heaven…

It is logically impossible to move forward without first being freed from the things which hold us back. We need to be released from all that impedes our progress. Our selfish sinfulness restricts us from finding and fulfilling our God-given destiny. We have marred the image of God in us (in whose likeness we were created) and need to be transfigured by Him who longs to restore us to the likeness of His Son.

We try to fool ourselves if we think that we can do without the God-given gift of forgiveness which, as physical beings, we need to be made tangible, real and assured. Only in the Sacrament of Confession (sometimes called Reconciliation or Penance) can this forgiveness be experienced in its fullness and assurance.

The Catechism (No. 2042) sees Confession, not just as the obligatory means of being absolved of serious sin, but as one of the habitual and necessary means of spiritual progress; while the Compendium to the Catechism (No. 432.2) makes no mention of the need for serious sin but formulates the precept as: “To confess one’s sins, receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation at least once each year”. We need to remind ourselves that the deadly (ie. mortal) sins are seven – pride, avarice, envy, wrath, lust, gluttony and sloth – and that each poisons the soul in its own way.

Finally, the obligation to annual confession aids us in combatting the sin of presumption before God’s judgment.  (Zenit)

Confessions at St Joseph’s are every Saturday: 10.30-11.30 and 5.15-5.45pm

Week beginning 21st February, 1st Sunday of Lent

Cardinal John Henry Newman (21st Feb – Day of prayer of his Beatification) – We commemorate the great convert Cardinal, who did so much to defend the faith against the tide of scepticism and rationalism.

Chair of St Peter (Monday 22nd). This Feast celebrates the unity of the Church, which is based around the ‘See’ or ‘Chair’ of St Peter the Apostle – in other words, around his teaching authority. We think of the words of St Leo the Great, who wrote:

Throughout the Church Peter still says daily “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God”, and every tongue that confesses the Lord is inspired by the leadership of his voice.

1st Sunday of Lent

The Lenten season is often compared to a journey. Just as, in the Old Testament, the People of Israel travelled for 40 years to reach the Promised Land, so duing Lent the Church collectively journeys towards the feast of Easter – Easter itself holding out to us a promise greater than that given to the Israelites – the promise of Eternal Life, won for us by Jesus. Just as the Israelites had their problems on the journey – weakness, disobedience, discouragement – so too our own Lenten journey is rarely straightforward! But it is important we never lose sight of the destination, and persevere.

In the City of Rome, from earliest times, this imagery of the ‘journey’ was taken very seriously. Lent began (as it still does) with the Pope going in procession to the ancient basilica of Santa Sabina high up on the Aventine Hill, there to distribute the blessed ashes. Then, every day in Lent was assigned a ‘station church’ – each day the people would gather for Mass in that particular place, gradually wending their way through the whole city, until at last Easter was celebrated with great solemnity at St John Lateran, the Pope’s cathedral.

Originally the Pope himself celebrated every ‘Station Mass’. This is no longer possible, but still, every day, groups of the faithful meet at the station churches – the major relics of the place are displayed and venerated, Mass is sung and the celebration normally ends with a procession.

Such a custom is very suited to the holy city of Rome, with its innumerable chuches – it would be rather more difficult to adopt in England. But the idea of the ‘station’ (literally ‘stop‘) can still be useful to us in our Lenten observances. How often we start Lent full of good resolutions, only to find we slip back into our old ways very quickly! On Ash Wednesday we are full of fervour, but all too soon our good intentions have mysteriously faded away…

Hence it is a good idea to ‘stop’ at regular intervals – perhaps every weekend – and simply asses how Lent is going for us. Have we made progress? If not, what has gone wrong? Can I put it right next week?

Don’t be discouraged – God is always prepared to give a second chance – but do be prepared to persevere, even when things are hard. After all, Our Lord himself fell three times on the way to Calvary, but he carried on to win us our Salvation.

Many family groups have expressed concern at the undermining of the rights of families in the Children, Schools and Families Bill which is currently before Parliament. If made law this bill will make Personal, Social, Health and Economic education (PSHE, including sex education) part of the National Curriculum.

“Too Much, Too Soon – The government’s plans for your child’s sex education” is one of the excellent commentaries on this bill which can be downloaded at www.famyouth.org.uk, where Norman Wells gives information about the pressure groups which have been involved in campaigning for the bill. In the section “Parents’ views not sought”, he reaches the conclusion:

The government’s decision to make PHSE, including SRE [Sex & Relationships Education] a statutory part of the National Curriculum was therefore made without any consultation with parents (page 35).

Concern over this bill is not just a religious issue:

• It is about parents having the right to bring up children according to their own values
• It is about school governors (accessible to parents) losing their powers over PSHE
• It is about protecting young people from being exposed to materials which are inappropriate for their age.

Concerned parents are encouraged to check the website mentioned above.

6th Sunday of the Year

ASH WEDNESDAY is not a Day of Obligation but it’s important to make a good start to the Season of Lent. Come to Mass at 7am, 10am or 8pm and receive the blessed Ash of your forehead as we each seek to turn away from sin and be faithful to the Gospel.

CONFESSION is the realistic way of doing this. Just come along any Saturday morning to any Cathoilc Church in the world! At St Joseph’s Confessions (the Sacrament of Reconciliation) are 10.30am – 11.30am & 5.15 – 5.45pm every Saturday. If you’ve not been to for a long time just tell the priest and he’ll help you. Pick up one of the Catholic Trust Society (CTS) leaflets on Why go to Confession or Examination of Conscience (only 20p), or read our Simple Guide to Confession to get you started.

PRAYER, FASTING and ALMSGIVING are the traditional marks of Christian commitment during the 40 days of Lent. There’s also a leaflet on that at the back of Church or in our Bookshop.

WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO DO DURING LENT? Decide today!

PRAYER: Morning and Evening Prayers are vital, so (re-)start or deepen your daily times of conversation with God.

Come to one of the Daily Masses once a week during Lent or, if you already come weekly, try to come more frequently in Lent. There are already about around 30 at the 7am daily Mass, and 60+ at 10am. Come and swell our daily offering of the Eucharist.

How about joining us for Lauds (Morning Prayer of the Church) at 9.30am Monday to Saturday (before the 10am Mass).

Stations of the Cross is at 10.30am and 8pm on the Fridays in Lent – helping us to focus on Our Lord’s journey of suffering towards His sacrificial death for love of us and helps us live our lives in imitation of Him.

Friday Lent Lunches are, like all our events during Lent, in support of two Lenten Charity Projects. A simple lunch of soup and bread with cheese and a beverage to enable us to show solidarity with the hungry and homeless while giving what we might otherwise spend on a meal to send them practical support.

There are plenty of 20p leaflets and £1.95 booklets available to help us during Lent, and especially the popular Walk with me booklet of daily reflections (£1) on the Pope’s Lenten message.

Week beginning 7th February, 5th Sunday of the Year

St Jerome Emiliani (Monday 8th / 1481 – 1537) – a Venetian soldier, miraculously freed from imprisonment by Our Lady’s intercession, he founded an order to care for orphans. He is patron saint of orphans and abandoned children.

St Josephine Bakhita (also Monday 8th) was born in the Dafur region of Southern Sudan, kidnapped at 17 and sold into slavery. Eventually arriving in Italy she was freed, became a Catholic and entered a Religious Order. While her body was mutilated by her captors, they could not touch her inner spirit.

St Scholastica (Wednesday 10th / c480 – c543) became a nun near Montecassino. She was the sister of St Benedict.

Our Lady of Lourdes (Thursday 11th) appeared to St Bernadette and has had profound influence and healing in the lives of many – hence today being the World Day of Prayer for the Sick.