INTERGENERATIONAL MINISTRY IN THE CAPE CHURCH
February 2, 2024
Important activities in March
March 2, 2024
By the time you read this Pastoral Note, we will already be far into the 40-day desert journey, which we call Lent. The Lenten journey started on Ash Wednesday (14 February) and ends – 40 days later – on Dark (or Silent) Saturday. (We never include the 6 Sundays, as they are always celebrated as Easter days: the Lord has risen indeed!)
For centuries Christians have focussed on three Lenten disciplines, namely confessional prayer, fasting (that is the abstaining from things in your life in order to give you time to focus on prayer, eg. social media, television, etc.), and charity. In Lent we are reminded of our great need for God’s forgiveness, mercy, and love. And that is what we hand out through our almsgiving.
A Prayer for Lenten Simplicity
Free me, Lord Jesus, from anything that obstructs my way to you.
Clear away the clutter of petty grudges.
Remove smudges of resentment and bitterness.
Cleanse me of thoughts filled with anger envy, or self-pity.
Create space in my life for more kindness and less spitefulness,
greater generosity and stronger compassion.
Enlarge my heart with a spirit of gratitude this Lent,
so that I recognize the simple gifts that lay in abundance all around me.
In your sacred name, I pray. Amen.
