ARCHBISHOP John Bathersby of Brisbane has urged Catholics not to leave their religion in church on Sunday, but to live it 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
In his Lenten pastoral letter, to be read in parishes on March 4-5, Archbishop Bathersby said Lent is a special time, free of distractions, to focus on the Paschal mystery.
“The season of Lent is a good reminder that religion is not all froth and bubble, but comes at a cost both for Christ who redeemed us, and for ourselves who seek to follow in his footsteps,” Archbishop Bathersby said.
He said this Lent is also a time to reflect on “Mission”, the third theological focus of the archdiocesan Synod in 2003, and the centre of the archdiocesan Lenten study program.
Archbishop Bathersby said mission is as easy as a smile, or as difficult as protesting the loss of innocent life in society, or the unacceptable gap between affluence and poverty in the world.
The archbishop noted that a recent survey of the archdiocese indicated that people were generally more comfortable studying the mystery of Christ, or practising the challenge of communion, than going out on mission to others, in families, workplaces, and places of recreation.
