March 28/Fourth Saturday of Lent
O searcher of heart and soul, O just God. ~ Ps 7.9
Doesn’t it feel as if we are in a time of testing? All of the activities and routines on which we have constructed our lives have been put to the side: going into the office, rooting for our favorite sports team(s), working out at the gym, eating out at our favorite restaurants, attending classes, going to church, even hugging a friend — each of us has a list ready at hand. In the absence of this scaffolding, we are thrown back upon our essential selves. Indeed, as the 18th-century patriot and political activist Thomas Paine wrote of another crisis, “these are the times that try men’s souls” (and women’s too, chimes in his 21st-century editor!). But these may also be the times that cry for some serious self-examination. Like a jeweler scrutinizing a diamond to evaluate its color, clarity, cut, and weight, we need to turn the 10x magnifying loupe inward and analyze whether our surface appearance mirrors or contradicts our inner selves. Have we relied on resumes and credentials for our self-image? Have we spent more time curating a social media image of flawless family life and unblemished professional success than we have spent actually working towards those ideals? Do our busy schedules and long “to-do” lists paper over an emptiness within? In today’s verse, God is fixing his gaze intently upon us, penetrating that glittering outer shell that we present to the world. He burrows right through, deep into the soft, sensitive tissue of our souls, the secret and hidden part that we try to conceal from ourselves and from God. By cooperating in this scrutiny and opening ourselves to a profound interior searching about our motives, our desires, and our life’s inclinations, we may come to a more honest understanding of who we are and what matters to us. The time to start is now.
O God, Searcher of the human heart, I pray that I may have the clarity of vision to seek and to love, in union with your holy will. Amen.
To hear the Gospel Imperials sing “Lord, Search My Heart,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlRWsRnLx64
For today’s readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/032820.cfm
This is rich content that profoundly speaks to me. Thank you Betsy! You are blessed to be a blessing and I thank you for your using your skills to challenge us. We get the peace, He gets the glory
Thank you, Gary. I’m glad these are resonating!