THE P RTAL
March 2015
Australia Pages - page 10
Lent
When speaking
J T Stockman
to a long-time, but irregularly church-attending friend recently, I posed the
question, “What does Lent mean to you?” I received the reply, “Money borrowed - but not returned!”
Persisting, I re-framed the question, directing his thoughts specifically to the religious sense of the word.
He said, “Giving up something for a period of time”, adding (jokingly) that he didn’t have much time for it
because he remembered that in his youth he had a Catholic girl-friend who gave him up for Lent.
For most church goers Lent is a time when many
Christians prepare for Easter by observing a time of
fasting, additional giving, repentance, moderation
and spiritual discipline. It marks the 40 days which
Christ spent in the wilderness coming to grips with
his humanity and preparing himself for his ministry,
knowing the culmination of his mission.
a matter of giving up something and donating the
money to a charitable cause. It is a reminder of our faith
and trust in God. The symbolism of Ash Wednesday
should remain with us throughout the entire time.
The ashes remind us of our weaknesses and sins, our
unworthiness; the Sign of the Cross reminds us of the
crucifixion, the resurrection and forgiveness.
The season commences on Ash Wednesday, at a
service when a Priest, or Minister, marks the Sign
of the Cross on a person’s forehead with ashes. In
Judean and early Christian history, ashes were a sign
of mortality and repentance. Mortality, because on our
death, our physical bodies decay into dust (or ashes)
and repentance, because in early times, when people
were remorseful for their thoughts or actions, they
would place ashes on their heads and wear hair-shirts
or uncomfortable clothing to remind them of their
sins leading to a death of the spirit.
Lent provides a particular opportunity for all of
us to step back from the hurly-burly of our lives to
pause, to create a daily quiet time for reflection on the
wonderful gift of life and love we have received from
our Father in Heaven. It is likewise a specific season
that leads to that most defining event of faith on the
Christian calendar. It is an ideal time to grow closer
to God remembering the loving message contained in
the compelling words of John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should
To my mind, however, the period is not simply a not perish, but have everlasting life”.
measure of contrition or personal denial and not just
Australian news in brief
Ordination
M
onsignor Entwistle reports: “I am very pleased to let you know that Ian Wilson will be
ordained to the transitional diaconate in the Ordinariate at 7pm on Thursday, March 26th by Archbishop
Philip Wilson in St Francis Xavier Cathedral, Adelaide. Ian’s ordination to the priesthood will take place a few
weeks later.” Ian Wilson is at present the Moderator of the Ordinariate in South Australia.
Fr Warren Wade, Olsc
Warren Laidley Wade: born September 1934, died 9 Feb 2015. He studied
at St Francis College, Brisbane and was Ordained in the Anglican Church
in 1961. As a priest member of the Brotherhood of the Good Shepherd he
ministered in out back NSW in Bourke and Gilgandra regions. In 1975 Fr
Warren retired from Church ministry to take up a non church occupation.
In the mid 1990s Warren joined the Traditional Anglican Church, and in
2012 became a Catholic and a member of the Ordinariate of OLSC.
Warren Wade was ordained a Catholic Priest by Bishop David Walker at
Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, North Sydney in December 2012 and
looked after the small Sydney Ordinariate Group until his health caused
his retirement. May he rest in the peace of Christ.
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