A Pastoral Letter from the Bishop of Monmouth to be read at each church service in the Diocese of Monmouth on the Sunday before Lent, 18th February, 2007
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
This week we begin our observance of Lent and it is a customary time for a Bishop to write to his people to encourage them to observe this holy season. Lent is a time of preparation for Easter when God’s people are called to observe four particular disciplines.
The first discipline is prayer. Most of us live very busy lives and prayer can become hurried, or neglected altogether. Prayer can also become a ‘shopping’ list of things we want from God or something we do as a last resort!
I like the story of Mother Teresa who was asked by a reporter what she said to God when she prayed. She said, ‘I don’t say anything, I listen’. The reporter then asked, ‘Well, what does God say?’ and Mother Teresa replied, ‘He doesn’t say anything. He listens.’ And then she added, ‘If you don’t understand that, you don’t understand prayer. Yes, prayer is as much about listening as about talking, and we need to find some time each day, if only a few minutes when we can be quiet and be with God.
The second discipline is bible study. I hope that you all have a modern version of the bible, and it also helps to have a bible commentary on the books you want to study. We all need help to understand the background to the scriptures and to learn to apply them to our lives today. This Lent, why not choose one of the gospels or one of Paul’s letters and read a passage each day. Reading the scriptures slowly can lead to quiet prayer as we let God’s word speak to us.
The third discipline is almsgiving. Christians should be disciplined in how they spend their money and in deciding how much to give for the life and ministry of the church, but in Lent you are asked to think of giving some extra money for the poor. We have so much in terms of food, water and clothing as well as education and health care. Lent is a time to remember those for whom each day is a struggle for survival and to share some of our blessings with them.
The fourth disciple is fasting. Jesus did not say ‘If you fast…’ but ‘When you fast..’ He expected his followers to fast as he did. Being slightly hungry makes us more prayerfully aware and reminds us of those who are hungry every day. It is an act of sacrifice and therefore a prayer, not of words but of deeds.
This Lent I am asking you to combine almsgiving with fasting by going without a meal on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and by giving the money you have saved to help feed the hungry in our link Diocese of the Highveld where the Anglican church supports feeding projects on large informal settlements where the people live in huts made of corrugated iron, and where they have no employment, no welfare assistance, no schools for their children and where many have HIV and AIDS.
If we all go without a meal each week during Lent, we shall be able to pay for thousands of others to have some basic food for their families.
I realise that some people are unable to fast for medical reasons, in which case you might like to go without some particular food or luxury during Lent or have a very simple meal instead. Most of us thankfully, will be able to go without a meal in the knowledge that our small sacrifice will make a big difference to the lives of others. Jesus tells us that when we feed the hungry we are serving him because whatever we do for our less fortunate brothers and sisters, we do for him.
I am asking each church to make arrangements so that people can give the money they have saved into a special fund, either week by week, or at Easter.
May God richly bless you during the great season of Lent that you may be drawn into the mystery of the cross and passion, so as to share in the glory of Christ’s risen life.
+Dominic