Scottish Catholic Observer

If Lent is a period of sombre reflection, penance and acknowledgement of our failings, then the Catholic Church in Scotland has certainly lived that spirit over the last six weeks.

The storms of criticism have buffeted us, and the bitter taste of humiliation has become all too familiar… yet among the Catholics I meet, I find a sense of resolute Faith, and, strangely enough, of very real hope.

That hope is built on the Feast on which our Faith rests, the Easter story of Resurrection, of life conquering death.

If, as individuals, we hope to emerge from Lent purified and renewed in spirit, then it is my hope that we will experience that same purification and renewal as a Church.

The election of the new Holy Father strikes me more and more as the obvious work of the Holy Spirit. His powerful preaching—more by example than word (right)—is having a dramatic, energising and positive impact on the whole Church, and as I travel round the archdiocese I sense that people have really warmed to his message of evangelical Catholicism, presented with humility and charity.

The Pope’s motto is a great one for this time of year, and especially for the Catholics of Scotland as we look forward to the triumph of Easter. The motto is ‘Miserando atque eligendo.’ It is taken from the homilies of the Venerable Bede on St Matthew’s Gospel relating to his vocation: “Jesus saw the tax collector and by having mercy chose him as an Apostle saying to him: Follow me.”

Having mercy on us, the Lord calls us—that sums up the Easter message for me beautifully—a message of forgiveness leading to commitment. Therein lies a challenge and a consolation for us all.