My dear brothers and sisters,

Christ’s victory over the temptations in the wilderness is recounted at the beginning of every Lent. In each temptation, the Devil proposes to Our Lord a seemingly easier path to accomplish His mission than the Sacrifice of the Cross and His total self-giving in the Eucharist. Turning the desert’s stones into free food, seizing political power or becoming a spectacle to entertain the crowds might momentarily win applause, but will not save humanity. These temptations are recounted because we can be tempted to seek deceptively easier paths in our Christian lives and in the mission of the Church. It is why we need this Lenten time of conversion so we may truly “worship the Lord our God and serve Him alone”.

This year, in our parishes we are re-starting in adverse conditions and with diminished resources. We are deeply concerned for the Ukrainian people and the peace of the world as the shadow of war has fallen over Europe. At such a moment, I want us to be sure of the inexhaustible resources of faith and grace given us. As Saint Paul reminded the beleaguered faithful in Rome, by relying on the Name of the Lord we will never lack all we need.ⁱⁱ Diminished we might be, as we emerge from a pandemic, yet we can never doubt from our Baptism, that we have been sustained by every grace, above all, the supreme gift of the Holy Eucharist.

Thanksgiving must surely be our starting point, in recognition of all we have received in the life of the Church. Thanksgiving is the characteristic of Christian prayer.ⁱⁱⁱ I was especially struck by the words of the last testament of the saintly Pope Paul VI, who constantly repeated “Lord, I thank you.” Pope Paul asked, how can we ever thank the Lord sufficiently for the gift of life and the still higher gift of faith and grace. So many graces, so many mercies, so many examples given us. Above all, Saint Paul VI insisted we must give thanks that we have been brought into the life of the Catholic Church where all the means of grace and salvation are found.^iv

The people of Macclesfield will this year give thanks for 200 years of renewed Catholic mission in their district. As we look back with them to the founding generation of our Diocese, we recall how “few in number”^v they were and lacking in material resources; yet they knew the gifts of faith and grace were their true riches. As Saint John Vianney reflected, we might see ourselves as poor when vast riches of grace have been given us in prayer, in the Sacrament of Penance and, above all, in the Eucharist. The Cure of Ars compared us to someone dying of thirst beside an immense river of fresh water. If only we would reach out, he said, yet we fail to see! Lent is an invitation to recognise God’s grace and the very presence of Christ Himself is now within our reach.

This Sunday, we pray for the Ukrainian people and for the peace of the world in response to Pope Francis’s call to draw upon the spiritual resources of Lent to overcome “the madness of war”.^vi The Holy Father has echoed the call of Our Lady at Fatima who entrusted this same message to poor children, amid the carnage and destruction of the First World War. The children of Fatima, two of whom have been declared among the Saints by Pope Francis,^vii had no human means to end a war, yet recognised the power of prayer, of receiving and adoring the Eucharist, of offering the small sacrifices of each day with great love. This Lent invites us to take up these same means as we intercede for peace and unite our prayer and penance to the practical help we offer to the suffering.

In the great re-start of Lent, let us recognise the gifts and graces which mark our Christian lives; above all the supreme gift of the Sacrifice and Sacrament of the Altar. Let us return to the Altar and the Tabernacle of our parishes in the joyful recognition of faith and prayer, and wherever possible in prolonged Eucharistic Adoration. This is surely the best place for us to start anew.

United with you in this prayer,

+ Mark

Bishop of Shrewsbury

i Cf. Mt. 4: 10; Lk. 4:8
ii Cf. Rom. 10: 13
iii Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church 2637
iv Cf. The Second Vatican Council Unitatis Redintegratio No.3
v Dt. 26:28
vi CF. General Audience, Wednesday 23rd February 2022
vii Cf. Saint Jacinta and Saint Francisco Canonised by Pope Francis in May 2017

My dear brothers and sisters,

Today marks the beginning of a new year in the life of the Church. Advent places all the turmoil of history and the upheavals of the present pandemic in one and the same perspective: that of Christ’s return “with power and great glory”^.i Our contemporaries might see time as an inevitable path of progress, whereby humanity throws off the moral constraints of Christianity. How often do we hear it suggested that it is inevitable that society will progress to removing all barriers to killing the unborn, or assisting the suicide of the sick, or rejecting the model of the family founded on marriage. Tragically, some see this as human progress. The Gospel offers a radically different itinerary, seeing this time as the moment of witness ushering in the dramatic struggle of the last days, marked by the trial of evil which does not even spare the Church^.ii

Yet, as the Catechism reminds us, all time is moving towards the hour which we pray is hastened, when we say: “Marana-tha! Our Lord, come!”.ⁱⁱⁱ Indeed, “whenever the Church celebrates the Eucharist, she … turns her gaze ‘to him who is to come,’ knowing that, “the Lord comes even now in his Eucharist and that he is here in our midst”.^iv Advent reminds us that our time must be marked by alertness as we heed Our Lord’s call to: “Stay awake, praying at all times to survive all that is going to happen, and to stand with confidence before the Son of Man”.^v

The pandemic years have led to such a re-awakening in our parishes as many have recognised anew, the Eucharistic Presence of the Lord Jesus, and the need to participate actively in the Sacrifice of the Mass and the grace and forgiveness which awaits us in Confession. I am especially conscious of those who remain medically vulnerable and are unable to return to Mass this Winter. Let us not forget these most isolated members of our communities and help them remain connected to the life of the Church. Yet, we must also be aware of those who may have ‘fallen asleep’ and be in danger of losing the perspective of what ultimately matters in time and for all eternity. Let us think of those who may not with us at Mass and seek actively to help and encourage each one to make their return this Christmas and in the new year ahead. This involves not merely a change of priorities on a Sunday but the same re-awakening to the presence of Our Lord. Let our help for them begin with prayer and our own example.

Pope Francis has asked that this be a time marked by listening. Attentive listening is not always easy in our lives or relationships, nor is it easy when we come to the silence of prayer. We all too readily hear only the sound of our own voices; and can struggle to find the silence which allows us to be attentive to the presence of the Lord. Soon we will celebrate, that on the first Christmas night, while the whole world slept, poor shepherds alone heard the voice of Heaven. In one of the best loved Christmas Carols we sing of the silence of that Holy Night declaring: “How silently, how silently the wondrous gift is given …” In silence the Saviour was born for us. It is in an atmosphere of silence in every Mass, that we hear God’s Word and receive the wondrous gift of the Eucharist. As the Saint of Calcutta, Mother Teresa reminded us, it is in silence before the Holy Eucharist that we also learn to be attentive to the spiritual and material needs around us. Let us rediscover this precious silence in all our churches so we can once more hear “the news of great joy”;^vi and recognise “Emmanuel God-with-us”^vii in the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist. This would surely be the greatest outcome of this time of listening, which Pope Francis describes as leading us all to the supreme prayer of adoration – which is reverent silence in the presence of God.^viii

May this new year in the Church’s life be marked by such a re-awakening, so we recognise the purpose of our time. Let us be attentive to the reality of the Eucharist which contains the Church’s entire spiritual wealth, Christ Himself;^ix and aware of our constant need of grace and conversion in the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation. May we also be ready to help others to awaken in Eucharistic faith and in the words of the Gospel hold “their heads high because our redemption is near at hand”^.x

Let us ask Our Lady, Help of Christians to guide us all as we prepare to share the joy of Christmas,

+ Mark
Bishop of Shrewsbury

^{i Mk. 13:26
ii Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 1403
iii Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 671
iv Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 404
v Lk. 21: 36
vi Lk. 2: 10
vii Mt. 1: 23
viii Cf. Homily of the Holy Father for Opening the Synodal Pathway, 10th October
2021 & Catechism of the Catholic Church no. 2628
ix Cf. Presbyterorum Ordinis no. 5
x Lk. 21: 28}