Reflections for Lent 2016
Jubilee Year of Mercy
Jubilee Year of Mercy
(See also the programme published by Churches Together in Barrow.)
1st Sunday of Lent
In this Year of Mercy the Justice and Peace Group thought it would be appropriate to centre the parish Lent reflections on the Corporal Works of Mercy and in particular to suggest practical ways that parishioners may undertake to live out these works during Lent.
To remind ourselves, these Works of Mercy are: Feed the Hungry; Give drink to the Thirsty; Clothe the Naked; Visit the Sick: Shelter the Homeless; Ransom the Captives/Visit the Imprisoned and Bury the Dead.
In each Sunday of Lent we will look at a different Work and suggest practical actions for parishioners to consider undertaking.
This week’s Work is Feed the Hungry
2nd Sunday of Lent
This week we are thinking about the second of the corporal works of mercy: Give Drink to the Thirsty.
We are so very fortunate to live in a country where we have easy access to clean water, perhaps we forget that not everyone is so lucky.
We should give thanks to God for this gift and pray that all people will have access to this basic necessity.
In Father Vincent's newsletter he describes the work he is doing to provide water in his parish. Perhaps more of us could contribute to this work.
A friend told me that each time she has a shower she puts a small coin into a jar and gives the money to one of the many charities which work in this field.
3rd Sunday of Lent
On this the 3rd Sunday of Lent, we continue looking at the Corporal Works of Mercy and suggest practical ways that parishioners might undertake to live out these works during Lent. This week's theme is Clothe the Naked. Suggestions include:
The fifth of the Corporal works of Mercy is Visit the Imprisoned. This is a difficult one as so few of us have personal experience of this. I looked at the website of the Bishop's Conference for some ideas and information about the church's involvement.
The document is available online as is the recent inspection report on Leicester prison which has a lot more to say than the headline grabbing comments reported in the press.
In his recent visit to Mexico Pope Francis visited a notorious prison with his message of mercy and urged the the inmates to look to the future and believe that their lives can change .
We might not be able to visit prisoners but we can pray for them , for their families and for the prison staff who have such heavy responsibilities.
In this Year of Mercy the Justice and Peace Group thought it would be appropriate to centre the parish Lent reflections on the Corporal Works of Mercy and in particular to suggest practical ways that parishioners may undertake to live out these works during Lent.
To remind ourselves, these Works of Mercy are: Feed the Hungry; Give drink to the Thirsty; Clothe the Naked; Visit the Sick: Shelter the Homeless; Ransom the Captives/Visit the Imprisoned and Bury the Dead.
In each Sunday of Lent we will look at a different Work and suggest practical actions for parishioners to consider undertaking.
This week’s Work is Feed the Hungry
- A collection box has been placed at the back of Church for donations to the Food Bank at the Carpenters Arms in Loughborough. Please bring in any items but particularly tinned meats, soups, vegetables, and packets of similar food including cereals, biscuits etc. Provisions such as tea, coffee, sugar and salt are also needed.
- Could you volunteer to work at the Food bank during Lent, and perhaps beyond?
- Consider donating to Charities that provide food overseas – Mary’s Meals is an example www.marysmeals.org
- Please buy Fair Trade food whenever possible. This ensures that those who grow and harvest the food don’t go hungry.
- If you don’t already do it, say grace before every meal.
2nd Sunday of Lent
This week we are thinking about the second of the corporal works of mercy: Give Drink to the Thirsty.
We are so very fortunate to live in a country where we have easy access to clean water, perhaps we forget that not everyone is so lucky.
We should give thanks to God for this gift and pray that all people will have access to this basic necessity.
In Father Vincent's newsletter he describes the work he is doing to provide water in his parish. Perhaps more of us could contribute to this work.
A friend told me that each time she has a shower she puts a small coin into a jar and gives the money to one of the many charities which work in this field.
3rd Sunday of Lent
On this the 3rd Sunday of Lent, we continue looking at the Corporal Works of Mercy and suggest practical ways that parishioners might undertake to live out these works during Lent. This week's theme is Clothe the Naked. Suggestions include:
- Donate decent used clothes to Charity Shops. There are many such shops in Loughborough and our villages.
- Pass on the clothes (school uniforms?) that children have outgrown to relations, friends and neighbours. It may not be "cool" to some but to others it might be helpful.
- Buy Fair Trade or ethically produced clothes. Check out the ethical consumer website. www.ethicalconsumer.org/shoppingethically.aspx
- Tell retailers that you care about how their clothes are made and the conditions of the workers who make them. They do take notice of their customers.
The fifth of the Corporal works of Mercy is Visit the Imprisoned. This is a difficult one as so few of us have personal experience of this. I looked at the website of the Bishop's Conference for some ideas and information about the church's involvement.
- There are some 85,000 people in prison and of these 15,000 are Catholics.
- Each prison is visited weekly by a Catholic chaplain.
- There is a Bishop (the right Rev Richard Moth) who is responsible for prisons and a Prisons Adviser .
- In 2004 the Bishops published a document called A Place of Redemption which examines a Christian approach to punishment and prison. The title is taken from John Paul 11 who said: Prison should not be a corrupting experience , a place of idleness and even vice but instead a place of redemption.
The document is available online as is the recent inspection report on Leicester prison which has a lot more to say than the headline grabbing comments reported in the press.
In his recent visit to Mexico Pope Francis visited a notorious prison with his message of mercy and urged the the inmates to look to the future and believe that their lives can change .
We might not be able to visit prisoners but we can pray for them , for their families and for the prison staff who have such heavy responsibilities.
