Make a serious break from sin this Lenten season, Roman Catholic Bishop of Bridgetown Bishop Neil Scantlebury urged believers attending today’s Ash Wednesday service at the St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral on Bay Street.
In fact, he told the congregation at the well-attended lunchtime service, that the break should be permanent and they must not end Lent the same way they began.
“Lent is that time when we seek to grow closer with God and in the whole sense of growing in holiness. We are challenged to do good and avoid evil. We need to take a look at ourselves truly and give up sin, our attachments to sin,” he exhorted.
Bishop Scantlebury said true change will only occur when special attention is paid to self and not anyone else, and believers make pleasing God their priority.
“That we will work harder on ourselves, we aint going to be worrying about Tom, Harry, Dick and Sue. We need to look at ourselves and see in ourselves the areas that we need to say no more sin…to see the areas in our lives that we have to grow in holiness, the areas in our lives that we have to repent of our sinful ways.
“What is it that the Lord is calling us to repent of? Are we looking to please ourselves with our own passions and desires? Are we looking to please our husband, our wife, or are we looking to please other people or are we looking to please God?”
The Ash Wednesday service marks the beginning of Lent, a time of self-examination, repentance, prayer, fasting and almsgiving that will end in 40 days with the celebration of Easter.
Bishop Scantlebury appealed to parishioners to return to confession and make prayer and meditation a part of their lives.
He said while many focus on giving up things and certain practices during Lent, believers should focus on developing self-discipline.
“More than fasting, let us have self-discipline in the things we say, let us have some self-discipline in the things that we do. That we will curb our speech, curse less than we curse.
“Let us have that self-control… you do not need to commit adultery, leave the people wife and husband alone, have some self-control, it is serious business.
“At the end of the day, are we going to heaven? Our Lenten journey is a reminder for us to turn away from sin and be faithful to the gospel. We will mark our foreheads in ashes. The ashes remind us of turning away from sin, the ashes will remind us that we are to keep the word of God ever on our mind, upon our lips and in our hearts.”
(SD)
