Newsletter - 18 February 2024
PARISH NEWS
Through the Desert God Leads us to Freedom
When our God reveals himself, his message is always one of freedom: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery” (Ex 20:2). These are the first words of the Decalogue given to Moses on Mount Sinai.
Those who heard them were quite familiar with the exodus of which God spoke: the experience of their bondage still weighed heavily upon them. In the desert, they received the “Ten Words” as a thoroughfare to freedom. The call to freedom is a demanding one. It is not answered straightaway; it has to mature as part of a journey. Just as Israel in the desert still clung to Egypt – often longing for the past and grumbling against the Lord and Moses – today too, God’s people can cling to an oppressive bondage that it is called to leave behind. We realise how true this is at those moments when we feel hopeless, wandering through life like a desert and lacking a promised land as our destination. Lent is the season of grace in which the desert can become once more – in the words of the prophet Hosea – the place of our first love (Hos 2:16-17). Like a bridegroom, the Lord draws us once more to himself, whispering words of love to our hearts.
The exodus from slavery to freedom is no abstract journey. The first step is to desire to open our eyes to reality. When the Lord calls out to Moses from the burning bush, he immediately shows that he is a God who sees and hears: “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them” (Ex 3:7-8).
I ask you two questions: “Where are you?” (Gen 3:9) and “Where is your brother?” (Gen 4:9). Our Lenten journey will be concrete if we realize that even today we remain under the rule of Pharaoh. A rule that makes us weary and indifferent. A model of growth that divides and robs us of a future. Earth, air and water are polluted, but so are our souls. True, Baptism has begun our process of liberation, yet there remains in us an inexplicable longing for slavery. A kind of attraction to the security of familiar things, to the detriment of our freedom.
To the extent that this Lent becomes a time of conversion, humanity will notice a burst of creativity, a flash of new hope. Let us find the courage to see our world, not at the end but at the beginning of a great new chapter of history. We need courage to think like this. For faith and charity take hope, this small child, by the hand. They teach her to walk, and at the same time, she leads them forward.
Message of his Holiness Pope Francis for Lent 2024
Focus of the Week
THE STATION OF THE CROSS
As in previous years the Stations of the Cross will be recited each Friday in Lent.
Options are 10.15am (followed by 11am mass) and 6pm (followed by time of adoration).
CATECHESIS OF THE GOOD SHEPHERED
A new formation course in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd will begin 16 March and will run one Saturday per month for six Saturdays (except August). It will be held at St. Matthew’s Parish in Northwood. This is the beautiful Montessori-based religious ed program we run here at Christ the King for children 3-6. As a few of our own parishioners experienced here two years ago, the formation offers insights into the religious life of the young child, theological background in scripture and liturgy, and practical details in how we can help children listen to God. Please speak to Nancy Wood in the parish for more information.