Welcome to this week’s e-News

Dear Friends,
The days are definitely getting longer! I noticed yesterday morning how it was beginning to get light at 7 am and that, although the sun had gone down, it was still light at 5.30 pm. The Anglo-Saxon word for this time of the year is ‘Lencten’, literally, ‘when the when the days lengthen,’ and this reminds us that the holy season of Lent begins in three Wednesdays’ time. In e-News this week, we begin our remote preparation for Lent – we are now in a pre-Lent period – with an article on Ash Wednesday that I have written for the Bishops’ Conference website and the first of a mini-series on the Pillars of Lent by Fr. Anthony Barratt. In other news, there is a new document from the Vatican on ethical investments called Mensuram Bonam and also an Apostolic Letter from the Holy Father about St. Francis de Sales. This coming Sunday is Racial Justice Sunday and Bishop John Sherrington has issued a new statement about buffer zones around abortion clinics. Finally, the 2023 Rite of Election is on Saturday 25th February – do come and join us for it. Meanwhile, in this Year of the Holy Spirit, I pray you have a blessed week ahead, replete with the gifts the Spirit brings.