From our Gospel reading for today: ‘And he said to all, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake, he will save it’.

As we reflect on these words, these lines from Pope St John Paul may speak to us: ‘There is no evil to be faced that Christ does not face with us. There is no enemy that Christ has not already conquered. There is no cross to bear that Christ has not already borne for us, and does not now bear with us’.

So, as we take up our cross this Lent, we can be sure that He carries it with us, and will always be at our side in any suffering that we are called to endure.

In the Cathedral today it is the Solemnity of St Chad, transferred. May he pray for us, and may God bless you this day.