My Dear Friends,

It is with considerable sadness that I write to you today to let you know that Sue, our excellent Catechetical Co-ordinator is moving on. Sue’s work has always been of the highest calibre, but, as the mother of a young family the hours required of her were really becoming difficult to fulfil. She has kindly offered to continue to help out with the 1st Communion Program, and I am deeply grateful to her for that and for all the amazing work she has done over the years. Naturally, we wish her well in her new career. God bless you Sue and many, many thanks.

On a very different note this coming Wednesday is the start of the Season of Lent and now is the time for us to think about what we are going to do in these forty days. This is a time for sacrifice, certainly, and many of us will be looking carefully at what we might give up so that we may draw closer to God. Equally, many of us will take on something extra; a weekday Mass, the Stations of the Cross, time spent before the Blessed Sacrament, our austerity lunches. But it is above all a time for reconciliation, and for a greater awareness of our relationship to God. A time to return to the Father, to acknowledge our shortcomings and atone. “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” It’s about recognizing what has kept us back from being better people.

Finally, in the Gospel, Jesus reminds us that our repentance needs to be from our hearts because it’s the right thing to do, not so others can see how good we are! No, our sacrifices should be private, for God knows what is in our hearts, for only then, assuredly, our rewards will be great.

Every blessing,