Newsletter- 1st Week of Lent
Dear Parishioners
As Strange as it may seem coming so soon after Christmas, this is the First Sunday of Lent. On Ash Wednesday last week, we began our Lenten journey again together.
‘Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness’ – the readings for the First Sunday of Lent this year highlight our freedom to make choices. God gives us the freedom, out of love, to make the wrong choices – as did Adam and Eve (First Reading) when they succumbed to the enticing voice of the serpent. The Psalm is the prayer of one who realises that they have made wrong choices, but then seeks forgiveness, a pure heart and a steadfast spirit, promising in return to praise the Lord joyfully. For St. Paul (and in the words of St John Henry Newman), ‘when all was sin and shame, a second Adam to the fight, and to the rescue came’ –in the person of Jesus. Jesus restores our friendship with God and our life with him. (Second Reading). Jesus himself, even though he was sorely tempted, made the right choices by refusing the devil’s repeated offers; preferring instead to always serve and worship God (Gospel).
Lent is a time for allowing our personal perspectives, prejudices, fears and fixed ways to be reshaped according to the mind and heart of Jesus. While we live in the concrete here and now, we must also take the long view. We engage with the season of Lent so that our deepest authentic desires become focused on the vision of Jesus. In his resurrection he shows us that his life is stronger than death, God’s infinite horizon is greater than our limited imaginings, and self-emptying love is the gateway to the experience of eternal beauty.
During Lent we seek to attune our listening to God’s voice. We reshape our wills to become attuned to God’s will, allowing God to mould us as a potter shapes clay. We are not motivated by external pressure or a false and crippling sense of guilt, but by a profound and willing decision we make in response to a love that is so great and freely given that the power of God’s attraction becomes liberating. We discover that we are not slaves but, in and with Christ, his beloved children. We are not driven by seeking reward for ourselves but by the desire to express love and gratitude to God and to others. We are not concerned about external show but find our dynamism and energy in inner freedom, peace, a sense of connectedness with our sisters and brothers throughout the world, and by generous self-giving.
We can start by spending a little more time each day during Lent with the Lord in silent prayer. Maybe coming into church during the day when we have time and sitting quietly before the Blessed Sacrament or finding a quiet spot within our homes where we can rest for a while and allow ourselves to listen more fully to the still small voice of God and his promptings to us. Lent will then become a journey of new discovery and greater awareness, offering us the opportunity to become more aware of the choices that we make in our lives and the affect our choices have upon us, upon our relationship with God and with one another.
I pray that this year during Lent each of us will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ more intimately for ourselves and that during these next 40 days we will be given the grace to deepen our faith and feel more connected to Christ and to his Church and to one another.
Important – Tuesday 24th February – Deanery Lenten Station Mass, at The Immaculate Conception and St Norbert’s church, Spalding (Mass at 7 pm).
All parishioners are warmly invited to attend. No Mass or Holy Hour with Benediction in St Marys Grantham today.
I do hope as many parishioners as possible from our parish will be able to join in this special evening for all the parishioners of our Deanery.
Adoration – from 6 pm – 6.45 pm
Confessions – from 6 pm – 6.45 p.m.
Station Mass – 7 p.m. – Principal Celebrant and Preacher – (Bishop Patrick) – Concelebrants – (Priests of the Deanery)
Lenten Refreshments – Immediately after Mass in the Parish Hall.
Lent Information St Mary’s 2026
Extra times of Confession on Fridays in Lent – 6 p.m. – 6.45 p.m. N.B. (No confessions Friday 27th March nor Friday 3rd April).
Adoration and Quiet Private Prayer on Fridays in Lent before the Blessed Sacrament concluding with a simple Blessing from the Monstrance – 6 p.m. – 6.50 p.m. N.B. (No Exposition Friday 27th March nor Friday 3rd April).
Stations of the Cross – Fridays in Lent at 7 pm – N.B. 6 pm Friday 27th March – (First Holy Communion candidates and catechists lead the devotion tonight). Additional Stations of the Cross: Wednesday in Holy Week and Good Friday at 6 p.m.
CAFOD Fast Day collection 2026 – Friday 27th February is CAFOD’s annual Lent Fast Day. This Lent, CAFOD’s Family Fast Day invites parish communities to respond through prayer, fasting and almsgiving to the needs of families facing floods and droughts in places such as South Sudan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Through support for CAFOD’s Lent Appeal, parishes and schools can help families grow food and care for their communities in the face of the devastating impacts of climate change.
CAFOD envelopes will be available from this Sunday as you come into church to make a Lent offering. Please return your envelopes in the weekly collection plate throughout Lent. All donations received will be forwarded to CAFOD after Easter.
With my prayers for you and for your families this Lent,
Your parish priest and friend,
Fr Jonathan
2026 22nd February – Newsletter – Download