Dear All,
We are in Lent again. We have tried to find positive thoughts for you as we begin the journey to Easter, remembering that ‘taking on’ something for Lent may bring us closer to God & to each other than ‘giving up’. We hope you will find joy on your way through Lent this year enjoying all the signs of new life, of growth, of colour. By the time we reach Easter we will be enjoying Spring – I think we are lucky in the northern hemisphere with Lent coinciding with the coming of Spring – longer days, more light – a time of new birth.
We have Marty Haugen’s ‘The Hand of God’ as our blessing this week. Let’s pray it for each other, praying that we will each have a good experience as we make our way through Lent this year.
With love & prayer for you all
A Call to Return
Joyce Rupp
I am always amazed at how many people
come to Ash Wednesday services.
Why do they make such an effort to take a lunch hour,
or rise earlier than usual, or come to church
after a day’s work when they might not come to Mass at any other weekday of the year.
Perhaps it is the call ‘to return’.
Maybe a sense of hope is kindled in hearts
by the possibility of coming back to the Holy One
and trying once again to strengthen one’s faith.
It may also be the realisation
that there is always a part of one’s heart
that has not yet been given over to God.
Tender God,
you see my affliction
and you are unbinding my eyes;
you are bereaving me of the burden
to which I cling;
you are weaving my pain
into patterns of integrity;
the wounds that I cherish
you are turning into worships,
and the scars I keep hidden
into marks of truth.
You are touching me gently;
I see your face & I live.
Jim Cotter
Gratitude for the Love that Floods our Inmost Hearts
Gratitude for the love that accepts us whatever.
Gratitude for the love that brings peace out of strife.
Gratitude for the love that loosens the grip of evil.
Gratitude for the love that floods our inmost hearts.
Gratitude for the love that binds us together for ever.
Gratitude for the love that never ceases to forgive.
Gratitude for the love that enfolds with gentleness.
Gratitude for the love that floods our inmost hearts.
Gratitude for the love that endures the suffering.
Gratitude for the love that trusts.
Gratitude for the love that floods our inmost hearts.