ST PAULS Bookshop in York is beginning their third year in the Diocese of Middlesbrough. They would like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting them in their work of providing good quality Catholic resources to the Diocese.

Two events that occur this month each give an opportunity to look forward, and to look back. Ash Wednesday, marking the start of Lent, enables us, through fasting and spiritual reflection, to consider our personal journey towards Easter with Christ. A Lent unobserved is an opportunity lost. The selection of Lenten resources available at ST PAULS offers you the chance to undertake the spiritual pruning we all need before we can celebrate the certainty of Easter – the certainty of Christ and his Resurrection.

This year, March also sees the start of the celebrations marking the 950th anniversary of the foundation of the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham. This is an opportunity for us all to reflect on the Churchís pilgrimage of faith, a journey of both triumph and setback as mirrored in the history of the Shrine through its medieval highs, its destruction in 1538, to its revival in the 20th century. To find out more about the history of Walsingham, a good place to start is the book ‘Walsingham: England’s National Shrine of Our Lady’ by John Rayne-Davis and Peter Rollings, £5.95.

For those unable to pay a personal visit to ST PAULS Bookshop, why not visit their website www.stpauls.org.uk or set up an account and take advantage of their Mail Order service.