LENT - 2025

This Jubilee year - 2025- Lent begins on Wednesday 5th March. The green Ordinary time colour changes to purple

Lent is one of the five seasons of the Catholic liturgical calendar along with Advent, Christmas, Easter and Ordinary time. Everyone knows the date of Christmas - December 25th but the date for Lent changes each year along with the date of Easter. Easter is a moveable feast celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon of spring and dates back to the Council of Nicea in 325.

Lent is a 40 day period of prayer, fasting and alms giving. We try to increase our prayer life during Lent and practise more self control and abstain from luxuries, indulgences and treats and donate the money saved to charity.

Extra Masses and Stations of the Cross take place in church which assist us to reflect on the Lord’s Passion leading up to the Glorious feast of Easter. The ‘Gloria in Excelsis’ and the ‘Alleluia’ normally sung in a celebratory manner are omitted during Lent. ‘Praise to you O Christ King of eternal glory’ is used as the replacement.

There is no better time to reconnect with or deepen our faith than Lent especially in this Jubilee year.

Ash Wednesday dates back to the 11th century. The tradition of receiving ashes dates back to the ancient Hebrew custom of clothing oneself in sackcloth and dusting oneself with ashes as a sign of penance. Palms left over from the previous year’s Palm Sunday are burned and saved for the next Lenten season. Ashes are placed on the forehead and the Priest or a Minister may say ‘remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return’ or ‘repent and believe in the Gospel’. The ashes symbolize our mortality - they remind us that our bodies will decay but our souls will live on in Eternal Life. There are only two obligatory days of fasting and abstinence in the Catholic faith - Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. Fasting is a sign of repentance and increases or hunger for Christ who Himself fasted in the desert for forty days preceding his death and Resurrection.

Lent ends on Holy Thursday as we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. We remember this was Jesus’s final meal with His disciples in which He instituted the Eucharist. The first reading is from Exodus ch. 12 v.1-8,11-14. The response to the psalm is. ‘The cup of blessing is a communion in the blood of Christ’. The second reading is from Corinthians - ch.11 v 23-26. The Gospel is from John ch13 v.1-5. At the end of this Mass - the altar is stripped bare and the Blessed Sacrament is processed out from the altar to the altar of repose. The Congregation are invited to stay and pray for a while.

Mass is not celebrated on Good Friday. It is a day of fasting and abstinence. Red vestments are worn for the Passion of the Lord. The first reading is from Isaiah ch.52 v13-53 :12 the psalm is ‘Father into your hands I commend my spirit’. The second reading is from Hebrews ch.4: v14-16. 5: 7-9. The Gospel is from John. Ch.18: v1-19: 42

Holy Communion is distributed during the afternoon service.

Holy Saturday - The Vigil begins between sunset on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Sunday. The Easter Vigil Mass is held and is the first official celebration of Jesus Christ's Resurrection from the dead. This night's vigil is the greatest and most holy of all solemnities in the Catholic Church.

The Vigil begins outside the church with the lighting of an Easter fire. The new Paschal candle is blessed and lit. The vigil includes a service of light,Liturgy of the Word,Liturgy of Baptism, Liturgy of the Eucharist and the renewal of Baptismal vows. The Vigil is a time to renew the Church and ourselves spiritually.

The first reading at the Vigil is from Genesis - at least three other readings may be chosen but Exodus must be read - ‘the People of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground’

EASTER SUNDAY 20th April - THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD

This day is considered the supreme day of the Christian year. The Priest sprinkles the congregation with holy water that was blessed at the Vigil.

Readings are from Acts ch.10: 34a, 37-43, Colossians ch3: v1-4 and the Gospel from John ch.20 v1-9

The remainder of the week are days within the Octave of Easter.

The second Sunday of Easter is Divine Mercy Sunday.

On Monday 28th the transferred feast of St. George Martyr and Patron Saint of England will be celebrated.