Fr Tristan Writes 15th February 2026

On Wednesday, Lent begins: forty days where the Church invites us to return, with all our heart, to Christ, in preparation to celebrate the mysteries of our redemption in Holy Week. When we receive ashes on our forehead we hear the words, "Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return." It is a beautiful phrase: not really a comment on our sinfulness, so much as a reminder of our fragility. We are creatures, made in God's image; we are utterly dependent on Him! It is the illusion of independence that is what so often leads us astray, and it is this illusion which the disciplines of Lent - prayer, fasting and almsgiving - seek to put right, by putting our relationship with God and with others first. Each action of Lent is a chance to "remember" our dependence on the Father. In recalling our dust, which He gave life to, He fills us again with the breath of His mouth, the everlasting life of the crucified Son so that we may not die in sin, but rise as He did on Easter Sunday. Together, we walk as a community through Lent, in reconciliation with the Father and one another, like the people of Israel on their forty years wandering towards the Promised Land. Last year, you may remember that I recorded a short podcast each day entitled "A Lenten Alphabet"; these are still available on YouTube, should you wish to use them. This year, on Mondays, I will be giving a live catechesis on the meaning of the Lenten liturgies and the Triduum to prepare us to celebrate the Easter Mysteries together. And on Fridays, Barnabas will be leading in-person sessions on the beauty of St Matthew's Gospel (together with video material from renowned biblical scholar and Catholic convert Scott Hahn). Along with extra time for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Stations of the Cross, there is plenty for us in the parish to help kick start a time of spiritual renewal, and to walk more closely with Christ; to die to self and live for others: to live for Him, who died for us.