Lent
The great and holy season of Lent begins today, Ash Wednesday. It is a wonderful time to re-focus ourselves on God and the love he show us in Jesus his Son. With all the noise and sense of doom around us it is a gifted time of renewal. There is no substitute for our own hard work and dedication to prayer, fasting and almsgiving (works of charity), but there are some things in our parish this Lent that can support us in living this season faithfully and well.
Meeting up with others to share our journey in faith. We are using the Diocesan Invited series this Lent. All these take place over five weeks, starting on 19th February. Please feel free to come for just one or two if you can’t make the whole series. There are opportunities to get together on
Monday evenings from 7pm at Our Lady of Lourdes, Haslemere. (Email: haslemere@abdiocese.org.uk)
Tuesday afternoons from 2.30pm in Elstead. (Email: godalming@abdiocese.org.uk)
Wednesday morning from 11am at St Joseph’s, Guildford (Sign up at https://cpg.churchsuite.com/events/tbecxht5) and
Thursday evenings from 7pm (for 7.30pm start) at Ladywell Convent, Godalming (Sign up at https://stedsgod.churchsuite.com/events/9j3pobva)
The speakers and themes this season are:
Week 1 – Fr Toby Lees OP speaks about Jesus as Lord of our lives and issues an interesting challenge.
Week 2 Renewal – Canon Kieron O’Brien inspires us to become Missionary Disciples
Week 3 Community – Fr Thomas Mannion OP explores Ecclesiology. What is the Church and how do we fit in?
Week 4 Reconcile – Fr Kevin Dring leads a beautiful reflection on Reconciliation.
Week 5 Summit – Fr Gabriel Dobson OSB talks us through Holy Week, enabling us to enter more deeply into the Paschal mystery.
Times for Adoration Prayer before the Blessed Sacrament is proving a powerful means of renewal in the life of the church. St John Vianney once spoke of it as “spiritual sunbathing”. As Cardinal Karjewski has recently said “Adoration is like sunbathing — you let the sun shine on you, as you truly are. The monstrance is in the shape of the sun. When we sunbathe, we don’t say anything, we just put our face toward the sun in silence, and it’s the sun shining on us.” We are introducing more opportunities for this in the parish - before weekday masses and on some Saturday mornings.
Time for Confession This month a number of our children and their families have been celebrating this wonderful sacrament. It is a loving encounter between us and God, offering hope, acceptance and a fresh start. In it we allow God to love us. There is a really helpful simple guide from Westminster Cathedral that can be found here and at the back of church. Times of Confessions across the deanery will be posted here, to help you find a different priest.
Stations of the Cross CAFOD stations will take place at St Joseph’s, Milford on Friday 23rd February at 6.30pm.
Stations of the Cross will also take place
Mondays at St Pius X, Merrow at 7pm
Fridays at Our Lady of Lourdes, Haslemere at 7pm and at St Joseph’s, Guildford at 7.30pm
Sundays at St Mary’s, Rydes Hill at 3pm
Other helps for Lent
For a short daily meditation try Pray as You Go.
For something spiritual to replace your usual TV viewing try The Chosen. Season 4 now out.
For something advice, join our CAFOD Big Lent Walk (Email: jolewry@aol.com).
Retreat Opportunities at the Franciscan Centre Ladywell (residential or non-residential) including
Praying the Passion Living the Gospel with Brian Purfield from the London Jesuit Centre 15th to 17th March.