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APPOINTED TO BE READ AT ALLPUBLIC MASSES IN ALL CHURCHES AND CHAPELS IN THE DIOCESE OF LANCASTER ON THEWEEKEND OF  21^st/22^ndFEBRUARY 2026

Pastoral Letter First Sunday of Lent 2026

My dear people,

the simple invitation of Jesus to each of us is, ‘Follow me’. But we dither and pause and fall behind and lose our way. We have given in to temptation and lost heart and spoilt life not only for ourselves but for others too, and we have lost our Guide and don’t know what to do. Each Lent Jesus tells us to rise up and follow Him. He has not given up on us; nor should we give up on ourselves or on each other, no matter what catastrophes have befallen us. He enters the wilderness in search of Adam and Eve who were expelled from Eden when they sinned, but with hope that they might be found and forgiven and restored.

Jesus also sends His disciples out to search for the fallen. In two weeks’ time we will hear the Gospel telling us about the woman Jesus met at the well. I would like us to reflect on that woman today, in advance. She is sent to us by Christ and is a helpful companion for us on our Lenten. There may be much in her story that we share.

It is usual for the girls and women to walk together to the well, normally in the cool of early morning or in the evening after the heat. Some suggest that this woman is out of favour with the others. Perhaps she has a bad reputation, given the tragic life she has suffered, and finds it easier to avoid the company of others. But there is another way of understanding her. She wants the best water she can find for her family and for herself. After all that has happened and all the failures, deep within her heart she still has the desire for something good. She wants the best water. It makes me think of prisoners who still hope for a better life, or people whose lives have been devastated by war, daring to hope for something better. I think of those who have been abused but will not let the memories rob them of a better future.

Let us picture the group of girls going for water at dawn. Chatting, laughing, gossiping, enjoying one another’s company. The chatter continues as buckets are thrown down the well, one after the other. They hit the sides of the well going down, knocking earth into the water. Hitting the water, the buckets stir up the sediment. Pulled up, one after the other, they knock against the sides of the well, and the water level drops because so many buckets have to be filled. A price is paid for following the crowd – dirty water.

Now let us notice this woman, approaching the well alone at the hottest time of the day. The dirt has had hours to settle. The aquifers have fed fresh water into the well, and the water level has risen. With care she can draw up the best water the well can offer. The loneliness and the heat are worth the trouble. This woman can be a model of encouragement for us. The efforts we see her make encourage each of us to search for the best life, the Life Jesus offers us. Our religious practice will often mean we live differently from those around us, but see the reward!

Let us turn now to the classic exercises of Lent, given to us by Christ Himself; these are Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving. I note how Jesus speaks to His disciples assuming they do these things. He says, ‘When you pray, when you fast, when you give alms. . .’ The first question I must ask myself is - If I wish to be counted as a disciple of Christ, do I pray, do I fast, do I give alms? Jesus Himself waits for my honest answer, not waiting to condemn me but telling me to choose these exercises if I want to be His disciple.

So, why do they matter? Prayer acknowledges that God is the source of all that is good. God is the life and love we long for and He offers us eternal life. Prayer engages the spirit, reminding us that we are spiritual beings, made in God’s image and likeness. Fasting acknowledges that we are also flesh, we have bodies and bodily appetites. Created by God, we must somehow find ways of showing who we belong to, body and soul, where we come from, and where our ultimate loyalty lies. Fasting also enables us to admit that we have done wrong and must do penance as an expression of our guilt, shame and sorrow for the hurt and damage caused. Almsgiving acknowledges that my life – even my spiritual life – is not just a private affair. I am part of a body of people, and part of the Body of Christ. I must have a concern for the well-being of others, both spiritually and materially. Almsgiving makes this real, and as well as being a matter of justice it is a clear expression of generosity inspired by my awareness of the Father’s generosity. Almsgiving prevents my prayer and fasting becoming selfish.

Practically I encourage us all to renew or refresh our prayer life, especially parents with young children. Establish habits of simple prayer. I commend the School of Prayer promoted through the parishes this Lent. May it give you more confidence in your prayer lives. Many of you may have your own favourite charities, but I encourage you to support the work of CAFOD, Aid to the Church in Need and MISSIO (the Pontifical Mission Societies). (I do understand many have limited budgets. You aren’t expected to give to everything!) I also encourage you to make a strong effort to pray the Stations of the Cross this Lent either at home or in your parishes. See what Christ has done for us and what He wants for us. I also ask you to pray for the many people who are preparing to be Baptized and received into Full Communion this coming Easter. Have a serious but joyful Lent!

With my blessing,

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With my blessing,

Rt Rev Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster

APPOINTED TO BE READ AT ALLPUBLIC MASSES IN ALL CHURCHES AND CHAPELS IN THE DIOCESE OF LANCASTER ON THE WEEKEND OF 27th/28th DECEMBER 2025

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My dear people,

we should be slow to ‘pack Christmas away’, and we should be slow to ‘pack the Holy Year away’.

The Feast of the Holy Family is given to us as a gift of encouragement and hope for the time we still have. Let us consider this gift, what is it that you and I have received? The Holy Year of Hope was a season of many blessings and Graces. Those blessings draw us more confidently into the life and love of the Holy Family. Through Baptism we become adopted children of God. Through imitating Christ in charity, He recognizes us as His brothers and sisters. Through our veneration of Mary as Mother of the Faithful, we live as her own children, given to her by Jesus as He was dying on the Cross.

We are marking the conclusion of the Holy Year of Hope. Each of us has been prayed for. Our prayers have been heard and answered by the Lord. We have received blessings and Graces because the Lord wants us to be grafted onto and into the Holy Family. He wants us to carry His light into the new year, to chase away the darkness of fear and failure not just in our own lives, but also in the lives of others.

In due time, the angels returned to heaven, the shepherds went back to their flocks, the Magi returned to their homes, and the little Holy Family left the little town of Bethlehem, making for Egypt. They have become exiles, refugees fleeing persecution. Fear is a constant feature in the Gospels. Mary and Joseph are told there are people who want to destroy this child. It sounds far-fetched, but remember, we live in a world where infanticide exists. We know that children can be targeted in war with the intention of destroying an adversary’s future. The Christmas story has a dark side. With the coming of Jesus into the world sin reacts with threats and violence. A sleeping dog has been woken.

It won’t be long before we begin to see all the lights disappearing from the streets and houses around us. They went on in a flurry of excitement for the coming festivities Soon we will see Christmas packed away, as life returns to normal. But our family is different. We live by different beliefs and rules that will often put us out of step with our neighbours.  That is not to say we are better than others – God alone will be our judge. If we are to serve His purpose we must accept living differently, and being known as families who do so.

May God continue to bless your homes and families as we carry His light into 2026.

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With my blessing,

Rt Rev Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster

APPOINTED TO BE READ AT ALLPUBLIC MASSES IN ALL CHURCHES AND CHAPELS IN THE DIOCESE OF LANCASTER ON THEWEEKEND OF  29^th/30^thNovember 2025

My dear people,

as we begin the Holy Season of Advent my thoughts turn to Mary, our Blessed Lady, beginning the final month other pregnancy. She is carrying Life. For eight months she has sensed this child growing within her, this child given to her, and taking from her. As unborn children we feed on our mother’s blood, warmth, nourishment. It is as though the mother says to her child, ‘Take and eat, this is my body for you. Take and drink, this is my blood for you, that you may have life from me.’ In her case of course this nourishment is of a created type. Many years ahead, she would receive food given her by her Son, food of a different type, giving her eternal Life.

Let us reflect on this young pregnant woman as she offers us a way into this new Advent. She is expecting, preparing and waiting. She invites us to take on these same tasks in our own times by spending time meditating on her as she approaches the end of her pregnancy. We are so easily tempted to rush on to the events of the 25^th of December, counting down the days, but that is to miss so much, as if we are so taken by the gift that we completely overlook the care taken by the giver of the gift. The gift has been chosen for us, prepared for us, brought to us, shared with us. None of this should be taken for granted.

Before the shepherds are disturbed at night, before angel choirs fill the skies, before the Magi leave their homelands, and whilst Herod remains in the dark concerning world events, this young woman carries in her womb the Lord of Life, already started on His work of Salvation. Even before her delivery she has so much to share with us. For her the Word became flesh nine months before Christmas, on the Solemnity we barely notice these days, the Annunciation of the Lord. She knows Him best of all.

What a precarious approach the Giver of Life has taken. From her village life Mary would be well acquainted with the risks of pregnancy. She would know of women who died in childbirth, of babies lost. She would know of difficult deliveries and infection risks. Added to that she now has an unwelcome 80-mile journey to make from Nazareth to Bethlehem and it has come at exactly the wrong time. St Joseph may be a good carpenter, but he is no midwife. While in Nazareth she was amongst her own people and could count on the care and support of devoted family and neighbours experienced in these matters, and she had the comfort of familiar surroundings. Now however she is to be at the mercy of strangers, in a place unknown to her, full of uncertainties. It seems circumstances conspired against her and this little blessed life she carried within her. Thank God, with St Joseph by her side, she was able to trust in God’s protection for herself and for the child in spite of the odds.

We need to reflect on this because we live in a culture which is increasingly losing sight and understanding of the gift of life and losing sight of the Giver of Life. Sadly for all the advances in society, in healthcare and useful technology, there is much in our contemporary culture that works against life, particularly vulnerable life. Unborn children are severely and increasingly at risk. Each year hundreds of thousands are killed. The elderly are facing increasing pressure to effectively end their own lives. In  hospitals DNR (Do Not Resuscitate)is often put on the records of disabled and sick by medical professionals without any reference to family. It is becoming an ‘undisclosed policy’. Government chooses to cut Development-aid in favour of Defence budgets. The lives of millions of the poorest are adversely affected. From my years in Zambia and my visits to Ethiopia, South Sudan and Kenya I have seen what a difference it makes to the people whose living conditions are little different from those that the Mother of our Redeemer would have experienced. It seems that those who are born disadvantaged are subject to ever-increasing disadvantage. I strongly recommend to you Pope Leo’s recently published first Apostolic Exhortaion, Dilexite (On love for the poor).

There is another event and another date that remains hidden from us, brought to our minds every Advent; the Second Coming of Christ. He promised to come again, and He keeps His promises. It will happen at an hour we do not know, but we must expect and prepare and wait.

The Centenary year is over. The year of Jubilee will soon be completed. This has been a rich year of Grace and Blessings for us. Blessings are more than favours or tokens of approval from a kind Lord. They are given as ‘cage-rattlers’ to wake us from sleep and pull us back from our distractions. They are given as tonics to strengthen us for what still remains to be done if we are to complete our journey of faith. They are given to enable us to expect, prepare and wait. Like Mary, I am called to be a guardian of creation, a guardian of life by becoming a guardian of The Life. If I fail in this, whatever else I may achieve will count for nothing.

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With my blessing,

Rt Rev Paul Swarbrick

Bishop of Lancaster