First Sunday of Lent 2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

With cheap flights so easily available nowadays, most of us feel duty-bound to make use of them. People think nothing of jetting off to Dublin or Paris for a weekend. What was once considered exotic is now common-place – Thailand, The Gambia, Australia, New Zealand, New York – people hardly think twice about travelling to these far-flung destinations.

However, it still demands a lot of preparation. You have to search the internet for best value, the most convenient, ensuring that you have read all the fine print to get exactly what you require. Having done all this study and searching, just click and your trip to paradise is ready and waiting for you.

Of course, modern travel is easier and can be cheaper than in former times, but it still comes at a price. You have to have the money to pay for it. In other words, you have to work, scrimp and save in order to get what you want. Quite a bit of self discipline and sacrifice are demanded for the journey. The same is often true about the actual journey. Many of these cheaper flights tend to go at rather inconvenient times. Often people are leaving their homes in the small hours of the morning to be at the airport in time to travel to their desired resort. Despite the lack of sleep, most of us are happy to make this further sacrifice in order to arrive safely and in-pocket at our destination.

Today is the first Sunday of Lent. Lent is often described in terms of a “journey” or a “way”. Where does it lead and who is going? Hopefully it is all of us gathered here today listening to this letter who are travelling together on this Lenten Way, this Lenten Journey. Where are we going? – we should be hastening towards Easter with the eagerness of faith and love (Opening Prayer of 4th Sunday of Lent).

Like any journey that we make nowadays, it will demand good solid preparation, some study, a bit of searching and a good deal of reflecting on the information in order to come to a decision. All this should, with any luck, bring us closer on our journey to the real paradise which is ready and waiting for us – prepared for us by the Lord from all eternity, not just for a weekend or ten days.

Just like our trips to New York, Thailand or wherever, our Lenten Journey is going to cost. We have to have the wherewithal to pursue it. This demands discipline and sacrifice. We will have to decide on our priorities and stick to them. At times, this might prove inconvenient, but, like leaving for the airport in the small hours of the morning, if we want to safely reach our Lenten destination, then we will eagerly do what is necessary to ensure we reach Easter safely and spiritually in-pocket.

So, preparation, study, searching, planning, prioritising, self-discipline, sacrifice are all part and parcel of any journey we make. Some of us appear to be quite good at it and it comes easy, some of us find it harder and we have to work at it. Nevertheless it is something we have to do if we are to travel to that paradise of our dreams and desire.

As I said, today is the first Sunday of Lent – the Journey, the Way has already begun. So far, how much preparation, study, searching, planning, prioritising, self-discipline, sacrifice have we put it? How far have we got? Have we even begun to think of where we are going?

In order to get us well on Lenten Way, the Church has always recommended that we employ her well tried and tested tools for successfully reaching our Easter destination:

Father, you have taught us to overcome our sins
by prayer, fasting and works of mercy.
When we are discouraged by our weakness
give us confidence in your love.
(Opening prayer 3rd Sunday of Lent)

On this particular journey we need study, searching, planning, prioritising, self-discipline, sacrifice – in other words prayer and fasting. However, we also have to employ works of mercy – we need to take others with us, we can’t go on our own. We journey as a group, as a people. This particular holiday is a pilgrimage. There will be times when other will support us on the way and we will be called upon to support them when required. In fact the Lenten Way and our Journey towards Easter give us a clear indication of what our life-long journey is about and to where it is leading.

Brothers and sisters, this is my first Lent with you as your bishop. So many people have been asking me what are you going to do as a bishop, what is your plan, where are you going to lead your people? I don’t know the answer to all these questions at this moment. However, what I do want to say is simply: let’s journey on through Lent together, let’s hasten towards Easter with the eagerness of faith and love. As we all gather together on Palm Sunday and you hear your priest speaking to you, also hear me saying with him:

Dear friends in Christ, for five weeks of Lent we have been preparing by works of charity and self-sacrifice for the celebration of our Lord’s paschal mystery. Let us remember with devotion his entry into Jerusalem which began his saving work and follow him with a lively faith. United with him in his sufferings, may we share his resurrection and new life.
(Opening address on Palm Sunday – adapted)

I pray that this may be so for each one of us

God bless you and have a happy, joyful and fruitful Lenten Journey.

+ Terence Patrick Drainey

Bishop of Middlesbrough