March: Returning and Beginning Again
March sits in the season of Lent, where the Church walks the long road towards the cross with Christ. It is a month of returning: to prayer, to humility, to the quiet work of the soul. The world around us is beginning to soften and wake, yet Lent reminds us that growth often begins with honesty and letting go.
This is not a season of guilt or self-punishment, though it has often been misunderstood that way. Lent is an invitation to travel lightly, to uncover what has become tangled or numbed, and to turn our faces once again toward God. It is a homecoming of the heart.
March asks us to resist hurry. To walk, not run. To seek the slow, steady work of transformation like seeds splitting in the dark before they ever see the sun.
From the Earth
The British landscape is shifting. Frogs return to ponds, jelly-like spawn floating in still water. Blackbirds and robins begin their morning songs earlier each day. Daffodils stand up in pale gold, especially in churchyards and roadside verges.
Yet the land is still raw. Rain is frequent, winds are sharp, and the soil remains cold in the hands. But life insists: sap rises in the trees, and daylight stretches a little longer each evening. The earth itself is keeping Lent: patient, expectant, uncluttered.
Those Who Went Before
St Cuthbert (Feast Day: 20th March)
St Cuthbert, monk and bishop of Lindisfarne, is one of the most beloved saints of the British Isles. Born around 634, he was known for his kindness, love of solitude, and closeness to the natural world.
Cuthbert often prayed alone by the sea. One story tells of him standing in the freezing North Sea through the night, praying the psalms, while curious otters came to warm and dry his feet. He spent his final years as a hermit on Inner Farne Island, living among seals, birds, and wild winds, yet his heart was turned toward God and His people.
Cuthbert teaches that holiness can be simple: tending sheep, mending nets, praying with the tides. His life reminds us that retreat and service, solitude and compassion, belong together.
A Prayer in Action
Choose one daily practice to simplify during Lent. It could be:
Eating one meal more slowly and with gratitude
Walking in silence for ten minutes a day
Turning off your phone for the first waking hour
As you do, pray quietly:
“Lord, lead me back to what matters. Help me return to You with all my heart.”
“Return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.
Rend your heart and not your garments.”
