Great Wisdom

Cardinal Urges Return to Traditional Catholic Practices
By The Universe: Catholics in England & Wales need to return to the Church’s traditional spiritual practices, according to the Archbishop of Westminster.

Writing in his pastoral letter for the feast of the Epiphany, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor strongly encouraged people to return to the regular reception of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and to take part in Holy Hour prayer with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament.

“These are truly part of Catholic tradition and devotion and are nourishment to our faith, and I would encourage them,” he said.

The cardinal also pressed the importance of other Catholic practices that have slipped by the wayside in recent times. In particular he stressed the importance of eating less food on Fridays, which should be carried out “not only for self discipline, but as an act of identity and solidarity with the poor.”

As part of this the cardinal also took the time in his letter to urge Catholics to embrace CAFOD’s ‘Live Simply’ campaign, which calls on people be responsible consumers, using the world’s resources carefully and gracefully.

He concluded: “In wishing you the happiness of this great feast of Epiphany, ask yourself what you can bring as your gift to Our Saviour.

“May I suggest that one such gift is a little time every day. If we don’t remind ourselves of Jesus Our Saviour in some way or another then we lose touch with Him.

“I find it essential in my own life to give at least some time each day to think about Him, to be with Him and to pray.

“That is really the point of the feast of the Epiphany.”