St Joseph and the English Martyrs Church was full, with several people having to stand, for the morning Ash Wednesday Mass (2 March). Bishop Paul McAleenan was the main celebrant, with Fr Antonio concelebrating.
A representative group of pupils from St Joseph Catholic Primary School also attended along with their headmaster, Peter Coldwell, and a couple of others members of staff. The pupils included members of the chaplaincy team who read the first and second readings, and the responsorial psalm beautifully. They did our parish proud!
In his homily, Bishop Paul said that everyone loves Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Lenten season, even though it is traditionally a day of fasting. He said that “everyone loves Ash Wednesday because it is a new beginning and a day when God offers us his friendship again”. The bishop added that the purpose of Lent can be summarised in the words of St Paul: “be reconciled with God”.
The distribution of ashes was done by sprinkling over the head rather than the forming of the cross on the forehead. This was to limit physical contact which people find reassuring in these days of the coronavirus.
We thank Bishop Paul for celebrating Mass in our parish this Ash Wednesday. He told Fr Antonio after the Mass, “I really enjoyed it!”
(Photo shows Fr Antonio and Bishop Paul with parishioners outside the church after the Mass.)