28th March 2025

‘(It) is a time of spiritual growth and reflection, of turning away from our own desires and egos to focus on God, and of letting go of the trappings of the earthly world, including food and drink… Yet, do we get a chance to pursue these ideals? Look what happened to Christmas – throughout Advent we were being offered every variation on the Advent Calendar, all of them commercialised. Adverts offering exciting presents for Christmas seems to have started in the summer! There is plenty of carol singing – in the shops. It makes it difficult to concentrate on the true meaning of Advent (prepare the path, make it straight, a light in the East, a Special Birth among other things…).

So to the season from Lent to Easter. We are encouraged to pray more, to fast at least a bit and to be generous with our donations to people who have a great need for help. CAFOD is a familiar example – Family Fast Day, where we are asked to fast a bit and give the savings from our reduced diet to a CAFOD cause. All of this, of course, is for those who can manage it. Not everybody can. During Lent, we find ourselves in the holiday- advertising season (started soon after Christmas of course). Yet, for Christians, shouldn’t it be about our relationship with our faith? We can do this in a positive way – recognising the good in us and seeking to enlarge on THAT at the expense of the cloudier aspects of our living.

Easter eggs, made and stored for months already, might be a vague hint at New Life in an egg but they don’t help us with our fasting! If we can find a routine of prayer and quiet thought a couple of times each week, then perhaps Lent will become more meaningful for even more of us – I am sure that many of you already have routines which you find useful, but some of us need a bit of guidance - each week, perhaps. There is also the added problem of the apparent indifference of so many to faith and all it implies. 

We can make Lent a source of power in our lives if we approach it with our eyes on heaven and if we nurture a burning desire to be more God-like and holier in our efforts during Lent. Perhaps I shouldn’t have given up chocolates for Lent! Perhaps I should have taken on something more positive – pray more regularly, pray with others, try to get to a Mass in the week, find out more about a charity, give up some of my precious time so that I CAN pray, read some Scripture and then pause and think…

The quote in italics at the start of this piece is taken from a commentary on Ramadan by the author, Nadeine Asbali. It seemed to reflect in a way, what our own Lenten Season is about, including the difficulties that we all face in this modern world of ours. Our eyes need to be set on the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus, Son of God. Towards the end of Lent, perhaps we should have a look at what those special Services mean.

ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT BEING A CATHOLIC?

If you ask, we shall try to answer stjohn.melton@dioceseofnottingham.uk