Today's spending cuts will doubtless be greeted with groans and moans but, like it or not, the fact is that as a nation we have been living above our income. There is only one remedy for that, and no one denies that it will be painful. For some, the financial pressure will prove too hard to bear and they will seek means of escape, some even ending their own lives. That is tragic, and we pray with all our heart that God will support those out of their minds with worry and distress.

We can look upon the spending cuts as wholly negative, an attack on society as we know it; or we can see them as a kind of "financial Lent", an opportunity to reassess our values, check bad habits that have got out of hand, cultivate good habits in their stead, and generally reconsider our direction in life. For those who have more, this is a time to be more than usually generous, whether the gift be time, money, or talent; for those who have less, this is a time to learn to ask for help and to accept graciously.

If this seems Utopian, consider this: St Thomas Aquinas identifies the state with Christian society, societas christiana. It would surely not be a bad thing if economic stringency were to make us less selfish, more obviously Christian, would it?