Bishops offer reflections at start of Lenten journey

At an ecumenical service at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Parnell, Auckland Bishop Steve Lowe quoted from a thanksgiving sermon on Psalm 139 delivered by the first Anglican Bishop of New Zealand, Bishop George Selwyn, upon his arrival in Paihia in 1842.

Bishop Lowe presented the handwritten sermon to Auckland Anglican Bishop Ross Bay.

The Catholic Diocese of Auckland received the homily as part of the estate of the late Neville Hogg, Bishop Lowe said.

“One of his nephews, Brendan Lane, is the last executor of Neville’s will and he wrote that ‘on behalf of our whānau we are wholly supportive of the sermon being returned as a gift to the Anglican Church’.”

Bishop Selwyn’s words painted a beautiful image of the handiwork of God on land and seas and how humanity is given a share in the creative shaping of our common home the earth, Bishop Lowe said.

Humanity has, though, tarnished its relationship with creation, with God, with other people and with themselves, Bishop Lowe lamented. He said these are sins that people “acknowledge tonight in ashes as we begin our Lenten journey to Easter joy and the blessing of the new waters of Baptism and new birth”.

But “we take not this Lenten journey alone, for Christ walks with us”, he added.

Bishop Lowe added that he “would like to think that Bishop Selwyn would be amazed that tonight we, Anglicans and Catholics, sing with one voice, the voice of the whole Church, singing its praises to God”.

In a video message, Palmerston North Bishop John Adams described Lent as a season of grace and an opportunity for spiritual renewal.

He spoke about God freeing his chosen people from slavery in Egypt in the Book of Exodus, but then those people somehow lost confidence in the power of God and they ended up wandering in the desert for 40 years.

“And I wonder if that is part of the Lenten challenge for us. These 40 days are a time when we go into the desert, to rediscover or renew or reinvigorate our trust in God’s providence for us,” he said.

Bishop Adams suggested that, through human frailty, people today can sometimes struggle to trust in God’s providence.

“Lent is a time – I put it to you – that spiritually we regain that trust,” the bishop said. 

Christchurch Bishop Michael Gielen spoke in a video message for Lent about “three principles that lead us into the desert – prayer, fasting and almsgiving”.

“For me, they bring with me three questions,” the bishop said.

The questions are: Where is God in my life at the moment? What is it that dominates my heart? Who is it that I spend my resources on?

Bishop Gielen also preached at an Ecumenical Liturgy with Imposition of Ashes held at the Transitional Anglican Cathedral in Christchurch.

In Wellington, an Ecumenical Ash Wednesday service saw Anglicans, Lutherans and Catholics come together in the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart.

FULL STORY

A Season of Grace and Renewal | Bishop John’s Lenten Message – Tūmanako (Tūmanako)

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Bishop Lowe Ash Wednesday 2025 Homily Notes

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