by the Rev Father Dennis Cassidy, St Joseph's Presbytery, Keighley

YOU might remember a few years ago there was a great campaign among politicians in this country to 'go back to basics'.

The campaign by and large was a disaster because one after another, various negative details about particular politicians' personal lives leaked out with the many accusations of political sleaze that abounded. In one sense Lent, for the Christian, is about going back to basics but one that is very different from the political campaign of yesteryear.

The message of Jesus is concerned with eternal truths and so there is no possibility of sleaze.

The centre of faith, he says, is that there is one Lord who we must love with all our heart, with all our soul and with all our strength.

Along with this is the command that we must love our neighbour as we love ourselves.

If we put God at the centre of our lives and truly try to worship Him, then it is to have an influence upon how we treat others and how we live our lives. Religious observance is important, but if it goes no deeper than merely going through the motions then our faith does lack a firm base.

During this season of Lent we are invited to look closely at our lives. Do we live our lives firmly grounded on our faith or do we live our lives with a nod towards God and then get on with whatever we want to do without reference to God? Do we refuse to see the dignity of our neighbour and close ourselves off towards others?

To live our lives with our faith at the centre is a challenging course, yet, if we put our trust in the hands of the Almighty, we will be led to life-changing attitudes.