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Dear Friends
I might as well admit it;
I’m not good at keeping Lent, at least not in the traditional sense
of giving up something. Like Adam and Eve, once a particular
thing is designated as off-limits its allure becomes irresistible.
And sometimes I simply forget that its Lent!
Having promised myself that I will abstain from chocolate for the
required forty days (excluding Sundays) I’ll find that I've
celebrated the end of visiting with a Mars bar from the shop in the
foyer at the Ulster Hospital. In the game of snakes and
ladders that is Lent so often I find myself slithering to the bottom
and back to the start.
Perhaps its that sense of
repeated failure that makes the Archbishops of Canterbury and York’s
suggestion for a ‘good Lent’ so appealing.
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Instead of asking us to give
up things we are invited to share in simple, daily acts of kindness
together starting on Ash Wednesday. Recommended activities include a
clear out of unwanted clothes and toys and donating them to a charity
shop, producing a home-made card for Mothering Sunday, making a bird
cake or learning some basic first aid skills. Their campaign
entitled ‘Love
Life – Live Lent’, promises the idea that doing something positive
for friends, neighbours or the wider community can be as transforming
and spiritually beneficial as giving up something for Lent.
As the Archbishops state in
a joint statement:
“With God’s help we can
change the world for good a little bit each day. Together we can build
better and more generous communities. Together we can lighten the load
on our planet. We show God’s love when we do these things.”
If you
are interested in knowing more, visit:
www.livelent.net
With my
best wishes for very happy and positive Lent!
Ronnie
Nesbitt
Rector of Bangor Abbey |
