Becoming Ambassadors for Christ
Wednesday 5th March 2025Today marks the start of the Season of Lent with Ash Wednesday – a day of prayer and fasting as we begin our 40-day journey to Holy Week.
As we begin this solemn season of preparation, Bishop John invited the faithful in our diocese to reflect on a short phrase from today’s second reading to better understand how the Lenten hallmarks of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving can help us share the love of God in our world today.
Speaking during his homily for Ash Wednesday Mass at Salford Cathedral’s Temporary Church, Bishop John said:
“Today’s second reading begins with that small phrase, “We are ambassadors for Christ” – one of my favourite passages. I apologise if you’ve heard me talk about it before, but it seems to be so important.
What is an ambassador? An ambassador is someone who’s delegated by somebody else to stand in their place, to carry out their work with their authority. But you and I, by virtue of our Baptism, have been delegated by Jesus Christ to stand in his place, to carry out his work with his authority.
What a privilege, but what a challenge.
I’d suggest that, as we come to the beginning of the season of Lent, this is a very good time to reflect on where we are in terms of being effective ambassadors for Christ. There are ways in which we can improve ourselves in living the faith and being the missionary disciples that Pope Francis calls us to be – and let’s remember him daily in in our prayers at this time.
We are missionary disciples. Our faith is not something which is just inside, personal and private. It ought to be something that we live and radiate in our actions and decisions each day. So, the season of Lent is a very important time.
I think we all get very busy, don’t we? We’re distracted by many things. Life is very full. The season of Lent gives us that opportunity to reflect on where we are, what we’re about and maybe select one or two things that may help us to be better ambassadors for Christ.
Prayer, Fasting, Almsgiving
“And we’re given those prompts, aren’t we, in those three headlines: prayer, almsgiving, and fasting. Three different ways in which we can interpret who we are, what we’re about.
Prayer – I don’t know anybody who is completely content with their prayer life. I’m certainly not with mine. I keep reshaping it, reframing it, trying to make it a bit more constructive. At the moment, I’m taking a chapter of scripture for the New Testament each day and am just trying to read that carefully and slowly to take in the fuller meaning, that maybe I miss when I’m here at Mass, or the many passages that we don’t hear at Mass.
Fasting – it’s all very well to give up chocolate or alcohol for Lent. That’s great. But there’s the wider business of fasting and the absolute waste in our modern world. How much we actually throw away, what we don’t use properly. Maybe we can reflect on that for ourselves?
And then there’s almsgiving and to recognise that we’re in the fifth most prosperous country in the world, but even here, even in Greater Manchester, there is real poverty. 42% of our children live in poverty in Greater Manchester.
There are ways in which – not just by giving money, which is excellent – but different ways in which we can be giving of ourselves to others in a practical, daily ways.
Becoming Ambassadors for Christ
So, I hope that during today particularly, you’ll take time to reflect on what you want to take from the season of Lent, what priorities you may have.
Let’s not go over the top. Let’s try and choose one or two things that practically will be challenging but won’t be overwhelming, so that we can gradually become more and more those ambassadors for Christ.
Thank you for your faith. Thank you for looking to the season with seriousness as we begin with Ash Wednesday.
Let us now recognise who we are, how much God loves us, and what he is inviting us to be and to do in his name.”
Tagged | Bishop John
