March 19/Third Thursday of Lent
The promises of the LORD I will sing forever;
through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness. ~ Ps 89.2
In the long parade of human history, one generation’s unfinished business is inevitably carried over to the next. In the case of climate change or the national debt, this can be a negative legacy. In the case of handing on our love of God and our religious practices, however, it is perhaps the most important inheritance we can leave — in the words of Psalm 16, a “goodly heritage.” Today, Psalm 89 prompts us to think about how successfully we are passing on our beliefs to the next generation through the way we live our lives. Are we modeling a relationship with God that includes daily prayer, love for our neighbors, and faithfulness to God’s teachings? Are we making an effort to get ourselves into a church more than twice a year? Do we find ways to proclaim and give thanks for God’s faithfulness? It might behoove us to spend a few minutes reflecting on whether we are we giving our children, and our children’s children, adequately robust examples of religious commitment. The German Jesuit Karl Rahner once described saints as “the initiators and the creative models of the holiness which happens to be right for, and is the task of, their particular age.” Each successive generation must strive for sainthood by discerning anew the challenges of its particular time. Our age certainly provides ample challenges to our communal wellbeing, starting with the current pandemic, of course, but extending to the social and economic, the environmental and political, the secular and religious. Approaching these issues with a faith that is continuous with the past, yet re-imagined for the present, may be the best way for us to “sing forever” the promises of the LORD.
Eternal God, our Rock and our Savior, Grant that our words and actions may confirm and sustain our faith in you, even in the face of unprecedented crisis, from generation to generation. Amen.
To hear the Choir of St. Edmundsbury Cathedral (UK) sing “For All the Saints,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_UvXe-of-s
For today’s readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/031920.cfm
