News from the Bishop’s office February/March 2023
February 10, 2023
Important Dates for March
March 1, 2023
“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” These are the words of Eccl 3:1. No other season in our church calender reminds us more about this reality than the season of Lent. When we stand at the altar on Ash Wednesday, to receive the sign of the cross on our foreheads, we are reminded of our mortality: “Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return.”
Spiritually we are all on a journey to our final destination. It is the Lent period that primarily assists us on our inner journey with 40 days of prayer and reflection. Are we who we are supposed to be? Do we live the lives we are supposed to live? Are we as a congregation representing the Body of Christ to the world?
The three spiritual practices for this period aim to assist us with this self-reflection: fasting, generosity (almsgiving), and prayer. Why these three? With fasting our hunger becomes a symbol of our hunger for God. It is also a reminder of the stark reality of poverty around us, thus forcing us to look not only at our lifestyles, but also at our calling to assist one another in whatever ways we can (eg. generosity/almsgiving). As the Apostle Paul reminds us,“If one part suffers, every part suffers with it” (1 Cor 12:26). How can we then not turn to prayer, for not only do we acknowledge our self-centredness and often cold-heartedness, we also pray for forgiveness.
May Lent 2023 be a blessing in your lives; and may you look towards Easter with faithful expectations!
