It’s an early Lent this year and as such, the focus of February’s At the Foot of the Cross is very much on the three pillars of the season – prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
Canon Christopher Thomas, our General Secretary, joins us to talk about what’s crossing his desk at the Secretariat of the Bishops’ Conference. Firstly, we talk about Cardinal Vincent Nichols’ statement on the war in the Holy Land echoing Pope Francis’s call for a lasting ceasefire, the release of all hostages, for humanitarian aid to be allowed through to help those most in need in Gaza, and for hospitals, schools and places of worship to be protected.
We also talk about a day of prayer for peace in the Holy Land that will be marked on Friday, 8 March.
Another topic for discussion is Deliver Us From Evil – a new booklet by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales offering a treasury of prayers drawn from Holy Scripture and Sacred Tradition that can be used by Catholics to protect themselves from the powers of darkness.
Canon Chris offers a Lenten Scripture reflection, looking at the Ash Wednesday readings and also those of the previous Sunday when Jesus heals the man with leprosy.
There are two other important contributions to this podcast. We hear from Fr Jan Nowotnik, our Director of Mission, who speaks to Fionn Shiner about the forthcoming Jubilee year and also the Year of Prayer we are currently celebrating. The five-week resource on the Lord’s Prayer, We Dare To Say, is the main topic for discussion.
Finally, we conclude with a poignant reflection from Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, who looks after the UK’s Ukrainian Catholic Community, explaining how we can mark the two-year anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine whilst keeping the suffering people at the forefront of our minds.
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