A PASTORAL LETTER 

FROM THE BISHOP OF LANCASTER

for the First Sunday of Lent2022

APPOINTED TO BE READ AT ALL PUBLIC MASSES IN ALL CHURCHES AND CHAPELS IN THE DIOCESE OF LANCASTER ON THE WEEKEND OF 5-6 March 2022

My dear people,

The gift of Lent is given to us once more. Let us use it well, accepting it as an opportunity to reveal our hearts to the Lord, inviting Him to enter and make His home in us. Lent is our opportunity to prepare a worthy place for this most welcome guest. Prayer, fasting and sharing with the poor will be the three instruments we use to get the work done. Notice how none of these three needs public words; prayer is a conversation within the heart, fasting and alms-giving take place most effectively in silence and in private.

On this first Sunday of Lent we hear how our Lord, after being baptised by Saint John the Baptist in the Jordan, was taken into the wilderness by the Spirit. When the Son of God was sent by the Father into the world, conceived in the womb of Mary, He came from heaven into the wilderness of fallen creation. Now, as He prepares to begin His public ministry, He enters into the wilderness of our hearts. Sadly, as we know, we are not ready to receive Him, having allowed ourselves to be distracted by so many other things. It is our good fortune that He comes to be our Saviour.

It is sometimes the case that we find things in life so difficult to deal with that we hide them away and don’t go in; we know it is there, but the mess is too much for us to deal with, so we leave it covered up. This may be true of our garages, lofts, drawers or emails! In a similar way we may be conscious of a health problem, and yet we fear to go to the doctor. More seriously, it can be true that my spirit needs attention and yet I do nothing.

What is needed is for us to find someone who will help us get started and work with us. That person is Jesus. We may be surprised to find Him already getting on with this work. How did He get in? Mary gives Him the key to every heart. What motivates Him? It is the Father’s love for us. What can motivate us to cooperate in this work? It is the realisation that we have been loved first. We will also find motivation in realising that life is not what it should be.

These forty days of Lent will pass quickly, and we will find ourselves in Holy Week. By then a transformation will have taken place in the world around us. That change will be obvious to see, but it will be on the outside of things. What matters now for each of us is the inside, the personal, the hidden wilderness of the soul. Remember that our Faith is not just a private matter; our lives lived with Christ will benefit others for their good in this life and for their eternal life. United with Christ, your little sacrifices can achieve a great deal of good.

Lent must be penitential, but it is still good news, part of the Gospel. ‘Turn away from sin: Believe the Good News.’ There is immense benefit to be found in a Lent well kept. It is not designed to make our lives harder. Rather it serves to make them more honest, more humble, and more a place where Our Blessed Lord can find welcome. A priest made a comment in the retreat he gave us many years ago, ‘When you preach to the people on Sunday, don’t give them a hard time – they get that during the rest of their week. That’s not what they come for. Try to raise their spirits. Help them hear the Good News’.

 May this Lent help us all to hear the Gospel more clearly, and welcome it more generously, for all our sakes, but especially for those whose needs are greatest.  We turn to Mary, the first to give Jesus shelter in the wilderness of this world. She has given Jesus the key to the wilderness of every heart. Although free from sin, she accepted to do penance for us all as a way to return love for love received. May we follow her example with joy and gratitude.

With my blessing for you and your families,

+Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster 

My dear friends in Christ,

Welcome to the Bishop’s Blog!This week we will celebrate the Ascension of our Lord to the Father. It is a Holy Day of Obligation under normal circumstances. Currently the obligation of attending Mass is dispensed, but we would be doing ourselves no favours by letting this Mystery of Faith pass without keeping it sacred. As He prepared to return to the Father Jesus knew the disciples would struggle with loss again, and so soon after having lost Him on the Cross. His Resurrection would become the evidence on which all His teachings would find confirmation, that we are called to share the life of the Blessed Trinity.So many of our desires and longings are ‘earth-bound’. For the child happiness is found in the immediate moment; for the older youth and young adult it is found perhaps in dreams of the future; for the old it is found in past memories. Where do our longings lead us? Where do they leave us?Jesus does not give us a description of heaven. Instead, He tells us to trust, to calm our anxieties and know His peace. He knows that the joys of this world do not last. He wants us to know a joy that is complete. What makes us happy or fulfilled? His time with the disciples between His Resurrection and Ascension is a conversation between heaven and earth, and He continues to look for and speak with those left out, those left behind, those lost. He knows the work of our lives is fruit that does not last, even for the winners of Nobel Peace prizes!Our labours are so easily wasted, either by ourselves or others. Our achievements are so often unrewarded, our beauty fades, our strength fails, peace negotiations so carefully managed and conducted are blown apart by betrayals or random events such as a pandemic. The Middle East and Africa constantly fall victim to shifts in politics or poverty. All that hard work for nothing. Two steps forward . . . . .Let me share two stories of short-lived joy. I recall an old woman coming to the mission in distress because her adult daughter who was dying of AIDS had literally gone missing. We set out to find her, making enquiries with neighbours and eventually found her at the village of a traditional healer. The old mother’s immediate fears were eased, but her daughter was still dying of AIDS.On another occasion an old woman came asking me to buy her a blanket on my next trip to town. The blanket was for her orphaned grandchildren. She had saved the money needed but hadn’t enough to cover the trip to town. On the day I bought it I returned after dark, tired. I decided I’d take it to her in the morning. She lived the other side of the hills and there was no road through the bush. But then my conscience got at me; the blanket was needed at night, not in the morning.I set out to deliver it, knowing they would all be settled down for the night. My arrival in the village was announced by the dogs, and I knew the family would be alarmed by the disturbance, expecting it to be bad news. Of course, they were delighted with the arrival of the new blanket just at the right time. Given their joy, I doubt they slept at all. But the children were still orphans. How sad that we have learned to be happy with short-term joys, incomplete joys. We long for something so much better.Let us give our scraps of life, of joy, of love to Jesus. In His hands, and with His blessing they will become so much more. Heaven cannot be the reward for living impossible lives and therefore impossible to gain. Instead, all things are possible to God when we trust Him, and when we recall His desire, that we share with Him the life of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. May our perseverance in good works and our trust in Jesus win us our lives.

With my blessing,

+Paul

Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,

Welcome to the Bishop’s Blog! 

As a priest working in a parish you can never forget the importance of parishioners needing homes and schools and work for the good of their families. That’s part of what made the issue of the Cumbrian coal mine so emotive; it would be such a boost for the local economy. The Diocese encompasses the stunning scenery of the Lake District, so precious to tens of thousands of visitors who find the area’s beauty does them such good. There is the constant need to consider the well-being of those who live and work there too. I have a concern that our parishes and presence within the Park are difficult to maintain.Last week I spoke with Bill and Peter who both live within the Park. They are doing what they can to provide housing for local people at a time when more properties are being taken as holiday-lets. The problem is real, but not new. I recalled a story I was told by an old priest many years ago about a family he knew struggling for accommodation in Wigton. After several quick moves they finally secured a permanent place. Fr.Wells was chatting with one of the children. He said to the child, ‘You must be so happy to finally have a home’. The child gave a lovely answer; ‘Father, we’ve always had a home; now we have a house to put it in!’.‘Make your home in me as I make mine in you.’ Our Lord chose His words with care, wanting to speak to the heart of those He was addressing, then as now. Home can often mean a particular place, probably where our childhood was spent or where we lived for many years or where the family grew and neighbours were known. But some moves are tough, not always of our making and not always to our liking. We can reflect on the millions displaced by war, violence, poverty. We can also think of those who have to ‘go into care’ because they can no longer manage. The words of Jesus speak to them too.Two other comments Jesus made come to mind in relation to this. Firstly, He said, ‘Foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of man has nowhere to lay His head’. He also said, ‘I go to prepare a place for you, so that where I am you may be too’. House and home are to some extent distinct.As we draw closer to our celebration of His Ascension, we are taught to keep in mind that our time on earth is a journey, a pilgrimage to our ultimate home, to be with the Lord for ever. I remember the homily preached by the late Mgr Michael Tully for my father’s Requiem in 2003. He spoke about how the risen Jesus did not give us any detailed description of what heaven would be like, He simply said, ‘Peace be with you’. We don’t need to worry about the details because it will be right.Meanwhile, let us do all we can to practise hospitality to those in need so that we are more open to the ultimate hospitality we will know, please God, in heaven. Mary’s Rosary in this, her month, is a sure way to calm the troubled mind, and lift the burdens from heavy hearts.With my blessing, especially for those whose needs are greatest at this time,

+Paul

Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster 

A PASTORAL LETTER

FROM THE BISHOP OF LANCASTER

 for Good Shepherd Sunday, 25 April 2021

Appointed to be read at all public masses in all churches and chapels in the Diocese of Lancaster on the weekend of24/25 April 2021 (or shared in whatever way is possible).

My dear people,
Today is Good Shepherd Sunday. Each year on this Fourth Sunday of Eastertide the Church prays for Vocations to the Priesthood and Religious Life. Our heavenly Father knows well what is needed even before we pray, but Christ tells us we must pray always. We are very familiar with prayer of asking, prayer of intercession, the prayer that is a cry for help. We learn it easily whenever we have a problem or a fear or sickness, or whenever there is conflict. Other forms of prayer can take more effort. A very important one is listening. Asking for vocations is important, but it must lead us to listen for vocations because a vocation is a response to the voice of the Good Shepherd’s call. Creating an outer-silence helps us to listen with the heart, and can help others to hear too. Our silence will help them to recognise the Lord’s reassuring voice. A noisy church can prevent someone hearing the call of the Good Shepherd.The pandemic brought a profound change to our lives, much of that change has been unwelcome. However, one observation made by many has been how much they noticed the world growing quieter. As traffic and activity reduced, we have been able to notice the quiet of the natural world around us, enabling us to hear more birdsong for example.We are people of Faith. Appreciation of creation is good but is not an end in itself. A work of art, a beautiful building, or a moving piece of music draws us towards the artist, the architect and inspired composer of whatever has captured our attention and wonder. Such beauty and awe become places of meeting with the Lord of Creation, the
person of Jesus Christ.Over the years, you have had many fine homilies and Pastoral Letters on vocations. Please God, many more are still to come. Sadly, the only point we often take from them is how long they are! Each of us needs to grow and try to become more attentive to the voice of the Good Shepherd. This will not only help us individually; it will help others to become attentive too, and allow them to know the voice of Jesus.Perhaps the Samaritan woman our Lord once met by a well had come to draw water at a time when no one else was about partly because that was when the water was at its purest, when the silt had had time to settle after everyone else had finished stirring it up with their buckets. She wanted the best water for her family and for herself. Prayerful silence in our churches can be like that. We have the rest of the week for chatting.Our Lord criticises the hired men. Their loyalty was not to the sheep but to their own needs and their own agenda. When they had got what they wanted they went. Good shepherds, good priests and religious, good parents, good teachers are prepared to stay with the sheep, even during the hardest times and most disturbing circumstances. They are prepared to stay even when there is suffering. We must be like that if we are  to be like the Good Shepherd.  Our prayer for vocations must focus on our love for the gift that is the Most Holy Eucharist. The pandemic has threatened our appreciation of this gift. Online Masses can help us, but can never replace being physically present at Mass in our parishes.I know we have many who are unable to come to Mass because of sickness and frailty. But I strongly encourage you who can travel to make every effort to get back to Mass as restrictions ease. Make our churches places of strong silent prayer where people can sense the presence of our Lord and hear His voice. Be certain that some of those who will come are being called to the priesthood and the religious life. This matters because it is their way to heaven. Helping them to hear the Lord’s call and to answer can be your way to heaven. Pray for Deacon Stuart Chapple, to be ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese on June 26th, and for Philip Wrigley to be ordained Deacon at Oscott on the 6th June. Pray for Simon Marley in his first year at the Beda College, Rome, and for James Knight in his propaedeutic year at Valladolid, SpainFinally, I wish to express my gratitude to those priests and religious who have come from overseas to serve in our Diocese. It can be a great sacrifice to serve far from home, from loved ones and one’s own culture, with years between visits home. It is a sacrifice for your Bishops, your communities and your families too. This becomes even more of a sacrifice during times of crisis. You are truly listening to the voice of the Good Shepherd. We are grateful for your presence and for your generosity, and ask the Lord to pour His blessings upon you.With my blessing upon all who hear and read this Pastoral Letter,
+Paul

 

Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster

 

My dear friends in Jesus Christ,

Welcome to this week’s Bishop’s Blog!

Glorious late Spring sunsets. The light lingers longer. A grieving Monarch who has so much to be grateful for, but must feel it a mixed blessing once the love of your life, your rock is no longer within reach. Her faith will keep her gaze fixed on the life to come, promised by a Saviour who understands the human heart from the inside.And this Sunday we listen to the story of dear doubting Thomas who wasn’t there at first, but then came back. Where had he been? How was he coping? How was he not coping? Even the strong have their breaking point, the point at which they say, ‘Enough  . . . . ‘. Thomas had reached that point, and gone beyond it. And Jesus came back for him because He’d not forgotten why He’d chosen him, why He wanted him to be counted among the Twelve. Thomas mattered, so Jesus came back for him, and picked him out for some special words and some special attention, and what a difference it has made for us all! I can’t imagine St.John’s Gospel without this story.An individual’s struggling faith can make them something of a liability for the Church, but Jesus turns it round, and the one struggling becomes an asset. There’s a big lesson for us all. Jesus showed dear Thomas His wounds. That’s something important right away. Jesus rose from the dead not as a pristine figure, as if the Passion had not happened. He carried the wounds. It would have been so easy for Him to say, ‘Look at these and remember how much you hurt me’. That would have served to make the disciples ashamed, driving home the guilt. Instead, He showed His wounds and seemed to say to Thomas, ‘Look at these wounds, and know how much I love you’.Wounds are a fact in our lives. If we live, we will be wounded; if we love we will be wounded more. But a miracle occurs, and they are changed from evidence of violence and betrayal into something perhaps even beautiful. At the Easter Vigil, as the great candle is prepared and marked before being lit, the following words are used, ‘By His Holy and Glorious Wounds, may Christ the Lord guard us, and protect us. Amen’. Thank-you Thomas, for your honesty in admitting your doubt, and for accepting this miracle of love.My blessing goes out to each of you struggling with the wounds of doubt and with all the other wounds inflicted on those who try to live and love. May you too share the miracle Christ worked for Thomas.

+Paul Swarbrick.

Bishop of Lancaster.

My dear  brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus,

Welcome to the Bishop’s Blog!

It simply refuses to go away, even in a secular culture. If it was just an idea, an ideology, it could be dismissed as something that has served its purpose for a time. It might have made its contribution to the evolution of thought, to society’s shifting values and perspectives on life, and then inevitably it would have given way to something more acceptable, more in keeping with contemporary sensibilities. But it hasn’t, and it won’t.It is rooted in history more deeply than an ideology. It is something that happened. It involved people not by the exercise of intellectual thought but through the inseparable association with what happened to a known individual.Its greatest failing might be found in the degree to which it is caught up in the lives of its so -called adherents. It becomes tarnished by so many lives gone astray, promises broken, power abused. But then there are lives lived with outstanding selflessness, personal tragedies unexpectedly turned round, real light from real darkness bringing real healing. Some spend their lives trying to get away from it, asking for their names and details to be removed from parish registers, or keeping secret their faith-roots. Others turn to it, discover it as their ultimate lifeline and never look back. These extremes could cancel each other out, leaving a jury undecided.Each year we go back to the source, the life of one person, and the moment that life was completed rather than ended. We are at a particular historic moment on a specific day in a precise location with an identified individual; the afternoon of the first Good Friday, close by the walls of ancient Jerusalem, where Jesus of Nazareth hangs on a Roman cross. There is a small group of witnesses. They note details such as His few short words, His final breath, the reaction of one of the guards, what is done with the body.Normally, when someone dies, there is a period of grief. Those who knew him or her struggle to various degrees to come to terms with their loss. They try to ‘get over it’. Gradually the memory and even the legend fades as facts become more remote. In this case there appears to be something else at work. We live this event not as something remote but as something immediate, relevant to life now. What makes this difference? The difference is ‘hearted’ in who we believe this person to be, Son of God and son of Mary.My thoughts and prayers go out to the whole Diocese in these days of the Sacred Triduum. I am especially mindful of those of you who are experiencing difficulties that seem too much for you to bear. I also thank God for those who are an inspiration and strength and comfort for others.

+Paul

Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster

Dear friends in Christ,

Welcome to the Bishop’s Blog!During the days of Lent we knew the direction of travel. We could count the days to go, just as parents or children might mark off the days before the holidays begin (‘What holidays?’ I hear you mutter.) So, here we are at the start of Holy Week, Passion (Palm) Sunday. The Liturgies will take pace in their adjusted circumstances at the Cathedral and will be live-streamed (check Cathedral website).This past week I’ve had quite a bit of ZOOMing. I took part in an ecumenical ‘retreat’ for leaders of denominations in the north of England. I was in a MISSIO Trustees meeting, an Ushaw Trustees meeting, an International Affairs African Forum meeting and worked on a message for a CAFOD Mass. The message was concerned with the desperate humanitarian crisis in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Listening to first-hand accounts of the suffering and violence is deeply distressing. It also gives us food for thought when we ponder the ups and downs of life. When will their Lent end and Easter come?Talking with a neighbour about treating the wooden fence with preservative. Another neighbour bringing round some eggs from her brother’s hens. Hearing tragic news about a family and a school community in one part of the Diocese. Wondering if I should mow the lawns yet (second cut). Meeting to discuss schools. Starting Mark Carney’s book on ‘Value(s)’. Making sure the Lord has His fair share of time. Bits and pieces . . . . and Holy Week. Preparing for a brief interview with Joe Wilson on BBC Radio Lancashire. Remembering things I said I’d do and haven’t yet done. Bits and pieces . . . .  and, thank God, Holy Week. I need it more than ever. We need it more than ever.Your own week will be a mix of all sorts, good and not so good, things you have to do and other things you look forward to. People you long to see and people you’d rather avoid! (It’s always a grounding thought to remember there are those hoping to avoid me!)Holy Week is our way out, our way forward, given to us by our Lord. He has done it for us. He hasn’t changed, He hasn’t lessened because of our global problems or our particular problems. He sees the way for us, and is the way for us.With my thoughts and prayers and blessing, especially for those of you who are struggling

+Paul 

Paul Swarbrick 

Bishop of Lancaster 

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Welcome to the Bishop’s Blog!

The month of March, and the season of Lent, are racing by towards their end. If you think about it, March ‘gets us out of winter’ and delivers us to the threshold of Spring (at least for us here in the northern hemisphere). Lent delivers us to the threshold of Easter, the threshold of Our Lord’s empty tomb. The hardships we go looking for through the discipline of Lent have this purpose.During the past week we celebrated a Requiem Mass for our late Bishop Patrick O’Donoghue. It was held in the Cathedral on the evening of St.Patrick’s Day. I presided at the simple Mass, under the familiar Covid regulations, together with the majority of the Cathedral Chapter, the Cathedral clergy and Father Billing. Father Billing preached a moving and uplifting homily, inspiring hope as he recalled the personality and leadership of Bishop Patrick. That homily must have taken a considerable amount of thought, effort and time to compose. To deliver it may well have made even greater demands, but demands which I hope were richly rewarded.Elsewhere in the Diocese, on a different day, a Requiem was celebrated for another faithful servant of Christ, Anthony Finnerty. I was not able to be present, but know that Anthony had touched many lives throughout his years, drawing them closer to Christ.They were very different characters, united in one cause. I have every confidence that their work is bearing rich fruit in these testing times in the lives of those who knew them. Whenever we gather to mark the passing of someone who has been important to us, we can remember that we are still grieving for so many others whose deaths occurred perhaps long ago. We’ve not yet finished missing them. That’s not a bad think to remember. We shouldn’t try to ‘move on’ too quickly. March and Lent and our personal griefs take time to do their work, delivering us to the threshold of Spring, the threshold of the empty tomb, and the threshold of eternal life. Perhaps I’m lacking something, but I rarely find grief depressing or a ‘bad’ experience.Lucky me! I realise that is not the case for everyone, and that our griefs can differ. You might even find yourself doing surprisingly well, but then, all of a sudden, it hits you, out of the blue. The gap left in your life when a loved one dies, the silence because their voice is no longer heard, the sense of having been left behind, can leave us crippled, less than we were. Not being able to hold or to be held by someone is a strange experience of grief in this pandemic, a grief even for the loss of the living. Very strange . . . . But hopefully that too can work to deliver us to a better place and a happier time. The Lord knows all about it.One simple thought has often helped me; to reflect on how those I miss coped with their own losses. It would seem that a big part of what made them such special people for us was the way they had learned to let grief do its work. When I lost my father, I remembered back to the time in my childhood when he lost his dad. That has become a source of comfort and strength for me. May something similar be so for you in your own trouble.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil for you are with me” Psalms 23:4

As ever in Christ our Lord,

+Paul

Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster

My dear brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,

Welcome to the Bishop’s Blog!
The story of Abraham’s sacrifice sends shudders down my spine. Some awful things are done in the name of religion. Even though the child is spared, it can disturb us that such an act as child sacrifice could even be used as a test of Faith. Of course, what saves the day is Abraham being called to found a Faith that rejects child-sacrifice. I cannot close this paragraph without mentioning our own society which tragically continues to see hundreds of thousands of infants killed before birth. It is a tragedy that they are killed. It is an equal tragedy that it remains such a hidden part of society’s life, especially when we are told to ‘save lives’.The poor ram caught in the bush attracts my sympathies next. ‘The Lord will provide’ says Abraham, and so it is. Something has to be killed it seems, to please the deity. Was there a ‘good shepherd’ out and about somewhere, scouring the countryside for his lost tup? We need not be concerned. The core of the story is Abraham’s test of Faith, and the Lord’s generous providence.The image of the ram caught in the bush appealed to me when I was trying to come up with imagery for my episcopal coat-of-arms. Perhaps it’s worth me sharing some of my thoughts with you. Something in me can identify with that poor animal, stuck in the bush, unable to escape, awaiting its fate. Its ultimate release will serve to benefit Abraham rather than achieve its own personal aspirations (assuming rams have personal aspirations!). In like manner, we can be held fast by goodness knows what, awaiting rescue goodness knows when. Even when it happens it can benefit others rather than ourselves. But the Lord will provide. The outcome is His. My plans must give way to His, and I’m content to go with that because I believe He has my best interests at heart.Ultimately it was the Son of God who was sacrificed on a mountain, Calvary. At times when we are tempted to complain about what Faith in God asks us to sacrifice we need only call to mind that all we have comes from Him, and that He has given us all He has in His Son. It’s not easy though.With my blessing, especially for those who are experiencing particular doubts and difficulties.

+Paul

Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster 

Dear Friends,

For my blog this week please read my  Pastoral Letter (below).

Thank you, as always, for your great support and prayers,

As ever in Christ,

+Paul 

Bishop of Lancaster

     A PASTORAL LETTER
   FROM THE BISHOP OF LANCASTER
       for the First Sunday of Lent 21 February 2021

APPOINTED TO BE READ AT ALL PUBLIC MASSES IN ALL CHURCHES AND CHAPELS IN THE DIOCESE OF LANCASTER ON THE WEEKEND OF 20/21 FEBRUARY 2021 (or shared in whatever way is possible, bearing in mind how few will be at Mass to hear it

My dear people,
I send you my greetings as we begin the Holy Season of Lent, aware that we remain in some ways a scattered flock, still doing battle with the pandemic. Reflecting on Christ’s forty days in the wilderness, it could be said we are engaged in battle with the pan-demonic. It is a time of temptation. I was sorely tempted to re-issue last year’s Lenten Pastoral, partly to see how many notice, partly out of idleness and partly because I thought it was rather good . . . and there’s another temptation; pride!St Mark’s account of our Blessed Lord’s time in the wilderness is astoundingly brief. Perhaps a Lenten Pastoral should follow suit, stating the stark essentials we must follow to make Lent fruitful. According to tradition, this Letter will be read in all churches and chapels of the Diocese at every public Mass on the First Sunday of Lent. However, many parishes are not holding public worship, and those that are have greatly reduced congregations. Added to that, our Liturgies must be short, reducing  the time we are socially gathered. Is the pandemic a cure for lengthy sermons? If so, may we live to see if the cure lasts.So, our religious practice is reduced to stark essentials, just as our Lord found Himself without the freedom and comforts one grows used to when ordinary circumstances prevail. Where the Master is, there the willing disciple must be found too. It is a time of intense on-going formation for both the individual and for the Church. Three life-lines are given us; prayer, fasting and alms-giving. Prayer. Christ promised to remain with us, and here we find Him an example of prayer. More than that, we are taken into His prayer through His conversation with  the Father, His obedience to the Father’s will and His union with the Father. This is more than asking God for favours or help with the things we can’t manage. It is a desire for the Life of heaven.It is also an experience here on earth of the Life of heaven. Fasting. Christ accepted less of this world’s pleasures and ease even though on other occasions He would accept them and enjoy them. But here He deliberately puts them aside, knowing that they do not last. He acknowledges another order of delights, the delights that will last. Fasting is a discipline and an act of trust in the promise of a loving God. He knows our needs before we ask.Almsgiving. Christ shows us that the fundamental motive for almsgiving is compassion for others. Later He instructed His disciples to ‘Go out to the whole world’. Material-giving remains an essential expression of obeying that command, showing solidarity with our neighbour. It saves us from living a selfish life. Sharing our time also gains us ‘credit’. In this unfair world some are privileged and some are obviously disadvantaged. In these times more will be asked of some than of others. Needy causes are easy to find, overwhelmingly and exhaustingly easy. We do well to recall who it is telling us to persevere in charity even to the point of our own exhaustion and our own diminishing. He is the guarantee that we will not go short. His love will grow in us. ‘Give, and gifts will be given to you.’And what of Mary’s place in her Son’s Lent? Did He speak with her before He left for the wilderness? Did she know where He was, what He was facing? Did He recall the blessing of a mother’s worry? May Our Lady be with us in our prayer, fasting and almsgiving this Lent.Much more could be said, but, following the example of St. Mark, this will do for now. May this Lenten message open doors of hope for you, bringing in the clean air of the wilderness, and with it, a reassuring experience of Christ’s closeness. He has overcome all evil.

With my prayers for each of you, and my blessing,
+Paul

Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster