Lent is a time of renewal for the whole Church, for each communities and every believer. Above all it is a “time of grace” (2 Cor6:2). God does not ask of us anything that he himself has not first given us. “We love because he first has loved us” (1 Jn 4:19). He is not aloof from us. Each one of us has a place in his heart.
Benedict XVI began Lent today with the reflection: "He does not really fast who does not know how to nourish himself on the Word of God." The Pope made this affirmation at the general audience, during which he reflected on baptism and the readings from each Sunday of Lent.
The general secretary of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales has been tasked with finding ways to revitalise Lent as the penitential season. ....The move comes in a bid to restore public manifestations of Catholicism following the Pope’s visit which was widely hailed as a success.
The season of Lent has arrived. We move forward on the road to Easter together with the entire Church. The Claretian Missionaries engaged in a four year long spiritual journey share with us the meaning of Lent. Fr. Paul Smith, reflects in this video, on key aspects of this Lenter journey to the centre of the mistery of Christ.
“You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him.” (cf. Col 2: 12)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The Lenten period, which leads us to the celebration of Holy Easter, is for the Church a most valuable and important liturgical time, in view of which I am pleased to offer a specific word in order that it may be lived with due diligence.
The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales has called for a return to the tradition of self-sacrifice and abstinence during Lent. Archbishop of Westminster Vincent Nichols said Catholics should give up meat on Fridays and match self-denial with increased giving to the poor.
