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

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.

Once again in today’s Gospel we see the figure of St John the Baptist, whose ministry we heard about last Sunday as well. It is very appropriate that St John should always appear on two of the Advent Sundays, for he has a double role to fulfil. He is both the last (and greatest) of the Prophets, and as such he brings the Old Testament to its conclusion. He is also the first Martyr of the New Testament, giving his life for the Truth – the Truth ultimately revealed perfectly in Christ.

John is thus both herald and witness – and in both roles he calls us to repentance, to measure our own lives by the standard of the Gospel, and to have the courage to make changes where these are necessary.

Last week, in this place, we mentioned the importance of our Advent Confession – the best way to welcome Christ, not only into our world but into our souls, when he comes on Christmas Day. Today’s Gospel brings home to us the importance of proper preparation for this Confession. When the soldiers and the tax- collectors ask John for advice, he is very clear and explicit, telling them exactly where they need to improve. So too, if we give time and attention to our Examination of Conscience prior to Confession, the Holy Spirit will guide us clearly and directly too – and give us the courage to act.

There are some very good aids to making your Examination of Conscience in our Bookshop (including a CTS leaflet, priced just 20p). A brief guide is printed below:

1. ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart’

• Have I been loyal to the teachings of the Church?
• Am I faithful to my daily prayers?
• Have I put my trust in superstition or the Occult?
• Have I blasphemed against God or used bad language?
• Have I told lies or broken my word?
• Did I deliberately miss Mass on any Sunday or Holyday of Obligation?
• Have I received Holy Communion without proper reverence, care or thanksgiving?
• Did I fulfil my Easter duties?

2. ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself’

• Have I neglected my parents, or family responsibilities?
• Have I got drunk, been greedy, used drugs or pornography?
• Have I been lazy at work, in study or at home?
• Have I been impatient, angry or jealous?
• Have I taken part in or encouraged abortion, the destruction of human embryos, euthanasia or any other means of taking life?
• Have I used forms of birth control forbidden by the Church
• Have I cheated, stolen or gambled beyond my means?
• Have I told lies to excuse myself or injure others?

In this Sunday’s Goepsl we find Jesus and his disciples journeying towards Jerusalem where He will suffer and die out of love for us. The disciples are so insensitive to the sufferings of Jesus because they are arguing amongst themselves as to which of them was the greatest.

Our divided heart is similarly the cause of our disharmony and insensitivity to the things of God and the sufferings of others. Being caught up in our own selfish concerns blinds us to the needs of others.

St James, in today’s second reading, also speaks of disharmony within ourselves:

Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? … in the desires fighting inside your own selves.

These battles needs quelling, and the disharmony needs healing and harmonising – not only within ourselves but, more importantly, between ourselves and God. The Sacrament of Penance brings about this healing and harmony by God’s love and mercy.

Jesus Christ gave his power to forgive sins to his apostles and, through them, to their successors, the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church. While the form of the sacrament has varied over the centuries, the requirement for priestly absolution and (except when the penitent is incapable) verbal confession has remained constant.

Regular Confession stops us from letting our sins fester and deepen their hold on us; it helps to develop a mature conscience; gives us grace to resist temptation, and bestows healing and release from the burden of sin.

Confessions are heard in every Catholic Church, and in St Joseph’s on Saturdays from 10.30 – 11.30am, and 5.15 – 5.45pm.