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SCRIPTURE
READINGS
|
Deuteronomy |
26:4-10 |
| Psalm |
90 |
| Romans |
10:8-13 |
| Luke |
4:1-13 |
A
good way to think of Lent, a positive way, is to
think of it as a journey.
It
is a journey towards Easter. This is especially
clear in the Year of St. Luke, when the readings
are taken from St. Luke's Gospel Sunday by Sunday,
including the reading of the Passion on Palm Sunday.
For Luke's gospel lays a special emphasis on the
journey of Jesus to Jerusalem for his Passion and
death.
For
some it is a journey to baptism on Holy Saturday.
That is the original structure of Lent, to prepare
adult catechumens for baptism in the early Church.
The different Sundays were staging posts, as it
were, on the way to being instructed for baptism.
That rich idea has been recovered in modern times
with the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults
(RCIA) which is used in many parishes. People prepare
together for baptism or for the recovery of their
Catholic practice. On special Sundays in Lent they
attend the cathedral for service of commitment on
their way.
Lent
is also a reliving of the journey of the Children
of Israel in the wilderness from the slavery in
Egypt to the promised land. At the beginning, on
this first Sunday, we recall Our Lord's spiritual
journey into the desert to face the temptations
of the evil one.
When
we think of a journey, especially a spiritual one,
a pilgrimage, we think of making it not alone but
in company with each other.
So
Lent is the journey of the pilgrim Church , in which
we are supported by the prayer and example of each
other. Seeing so many in church on Ash Wednesday
and an increased number at daily Mass can inspire
and encourage us. As the Second Preface of Lent
says: 'This great season of grace is Your gift to
Your family to renew us in spirit.'
So
it is a family journey in which we are given 'a
spirit of loving reverence for you, our Father,
and of willing service to our neighbour.' This is
aided by the three great practices of Lent, prayer,
fasting and almsgiving. ‘We do it for God' as Mother
Teresa used to say. ‘As we recall the great events
that gave us a new life in Christ, You bring the
image of Your Son to perfection within us.' (First
Preface of Lent). We also do it for our neighbour.
The two loves and services do not compete, they
are intertwined. We bring them all together on the
occasion of Family Fast Day, when what we save on
our food is donated through CAFOD to the poor and
needy of the Third World, a very practical way of
reviving the ancient tradition of fasting.
Fr
Tony Nye SJ
LENT
AND HOLY WEEK
Family
Fast Day, February 26th
Palm
Sunday , March 28
th
There
will be an exchange of palms with Grosvenor Chapel
at 10:45am
in Mount Street
Garden
.
Monday
in Holy Week , March
29 th
6:45pm:
Penance Service with opportunity for individual
confession.
Maundy
Thursday , April
1 st
Mass
of the Lord's Supper at 6pm.
Good
Friday , April 2
nd
This
is a day of fasting and abstinence. 3pm: Liturgy
of the Passion
6pm:
Seven Last Words
Holy
Saturday , April
3 rd
8pm:
Easter Vigil Mass
Easter
Sunday : regular
Mass times
Fr
Anthony Meredith will be giving four Lenten Talks
on Sundays at 5pm in the Hall, beginning on February
28 th .
There
will be Stations of the Cross on Fridays during
Lent at 12:30pm, followed by Mass at 1:05pm as usual.
JESUIT
MISSIONS
A
big Thank You for your generosity last Sunday. You
can still send in donations. If you wish to support
a particular project or country make a note to that
effect. We will announce the total amount next week-end.
FAIR
TRADE
Next
Sunday we welcome Fair Trade items in the church
and in the Hall. A good way to do something for
developing countries this Lent.
REGISTRATION
If
you have not filled in a Registration Form in recent
years, please do so today so that we can keep our
Parish records up to date. Any regular visitor to
Farm Street
is entitled to be on our Parish roll.
MASS
INTENTIONS
When
filling in a Mass envelope, please give your phone
number in case of a difficulty regarding your requested
date or time.
LENTEN
READING
There
is a good selection of Spiritual reading in the
bookshop in the Hall after the morning Masses and
there are very good and pertinent articles in the
Catholic press this weekend on the subject of Lent.
“ Walk with Me” booklets are
available at the doors. Please take one as a daily
guide, but only if you are going to use it!
FARM
STREET FILMS
On
Thursday 25 th February at 6:45pm
Films at Farm
Street presents Hotel
Rwanda by director Terry George (
2004
). This film has been called an African
Schindler's
List . It is set during the Rwandan genocide
of 1994 and documents how hotelier Paul Rusesabagina
(played by Don Cheadle) acts to save the lives of
his family and more than a thousand other refugees
, by granting them shelter in the besieged Hôtel
des Mille Collines . All
welcome.
CAFOD
CAFOD
Lent Fast Day
is next Friday, 26 th February.
Envelopes will be handed out at the end of Mass
this weekend. The collection will start at all Masses
on the following weekend– and then continue on into
Lent. The theme this year is “give it up!”. The
proceeds from what we give up will support people
in need.
EXPOSITION
During the
first week of Lent, parishes of the Marylebone Deanery
are praying before the Blessed Sacrament to ask
God for vocations to the Priesthood. Farm Street
warmly invites you to come and take part on this
Monday, 22 nd February any time from 2pm
to
6pm
. Benediction
at 5:45pm
, followed
by Mass at 6pm
.
There
will be no rehearsals of the Children's Choir until
after Easter
FAITH
MATTERS
Tuesdays
in Lent, 7-8:30pm Westminster Cathedral Hall, Ambrosden
Avenue , SWIP 1QJ.
This
series of public lectures at the Cathedral Hall
celebrates the Year of the Priest with a special
Lenten programme on the Priesthood starting in late
February. Speakers include Archbishop Vincent Nichols.
See the below for details.
February
23 rd : The Priest:
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, by Fr Aidan Nichols,
OP
March
2 nd : The Priest &
the Universal Baptismal Call, by Dr Clare Watkins
March
9 th : The Call to Priesthood
in a Global City, by Fr Andrzej
Forys , MS
March
16 th : The Priest as
Witness, by Archbishop Vincent Nichols
Please
use Gift-Aid envelopes for your donations if you
are a UK
Tax-payer .
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