March 12/Fourth Tuesday of Lent
God is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we fear not, though the earth should change
and the mountains shake in the heart of the sea. ~ Ps 46.2-3
Keeping one’s equilibrium amid the boil and churn of modern life can be a challenge. There is the frenetic tempo many of us keep each day, as we rush from meetings to school pick-ups to emails to more meetings to household chores to soccer games to doctors’ appointments to dinner. There are the roiling waters of our civic discourse, where the provocations of cable news and social media feeds inflame us to speak our piece and score our points. We are called to engage productively with the world, of course, and all of us are meant to “brighten the corner” where we are. But sometimes, we need a sheltered quiet place in which to recollect ourselves, to gather up the pieces of our lives that have been fragmented by too many demands and commitments and obligations. Our refuge and strength are right at hand, of course, and their name is God, and in him will we find what we need to go back out into the world and carry on. “Intimate union with God,” wrote Henri Nouwen, “leads to the most creative involvement in the contemporary world.” As we feel ourselves buffeted by the shaking and plunging of our clamorous existence, let us allow ourselves to pause for renewal in the loving-kindness and grace of God by spending a few quiet moments in prayer, by attending church or a prayer service, or by simply calling God’s name and asking for his help, which is but a whisper away. As the great Carmelite nun and spiritual writer Teresa of Avila admonished her nuns, “However softly we speak, He is near enough to hear us.” There is nothing to fear where God is.
Unshakable and steadfast God, May I seek and find safety in your loving embrace today, tomorrow, and always. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031224.cfm
To hear the Southwestern Adventist University Festival Choir sing Philip Stopford’s “God Is Our Hope and Strength,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaWsyXI-BwI
