AECI Lent 2026 Reflection: 'Am I In The Picture? A Screen Journey' (Week 6)

AECI Lent 2026 Reflection: 'Am I In The Picture? A Screen Journey'

(With reference to Pier Paolo Pasolini's 'Gospel According to St Matthew 1964)

Opening Prayer:

'O God,

Shepherd of all your people,

deliver us from all troubles,

worries and cares that assail us,

that we may always do

what is pleasing in your sight,

and remain safe

in the care of our Good Shepherd;

Jesus Christ our Lord'

Amen.

WEEK SIX

Picture 11

Picture 12

'See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.' (Matthew 18: 10-14 , 21-22)

The metaphor of the 'Good Shepherd' is a powerful reminder of our deep human need for guidance and compassion in periods of isolation and confusion.

RECALL: This screen journey throughout Lent has been a journey of 'love', in that it seeks out, through prayer and patience, the true version of ourselves. In the teachings of Jesus at the root of this 'love' is mercy and forgiveness. Recall a moment where you might have been gifted 'forgiveness' or felt repositioned in your life through a sense of 'mercy' and of fresh perspective.

ASK: How might we become 'more aligned' with God in the longer term? To avoid 'wandering away'. How might we recognise more acutely when a distance emerges between ourselves and the Divine? Do we need leaders or 'teachers' like the disciples in Picture 12?

REFLECT: Christ seems to highlight the real dangers we can encounter with a lack of direction or connection (...we may 'perish'!). The world today places great pressure on younger generations to follow certain trends, often through the means of technology.

In prayer we commit to keeping all 'safe' in an age where there are so many distractions from 'the face of the Father'.