April 7/Tuesday of Holy Week
For you are my hope, O LORD; my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength.
~ Ps 71.5-6
Not long ago, a childhood friend sent me a photograph of her 10th birthday party, a modest affair at which my sisters and I gave her a copy of Stuart Little (still one of her favorite books). Her note said, “Old friends are the dearest friends,” and she had a point: of the girls pictured in the photo, all of us are still part of one another’s lives, decades later. Whether it is an abiding friendship, an enduring marriage, or longtime tenure in a company or institution, there is much to be said for lasting connections. The stability and trust that emerge from relationships that have endured troubles and joys, peaks and valleys, enthusiasms and distractions, are among the great goods of human life. Over the years, the durability of these bonds comes to create a supporting structure for our lives — support that we need and appreciate more than ever in these trying times. Our human relationships uplift and comfort us. So, too, may we find reassurance in God’s rock-solid and reliable presence in our lives, celebrated in today’s psalm. God has created us to be His own; he has offered us his strength and protection from before we were even born. We don’t always respond with the measure of love he gives us — anyone who has embarked on the journey of faith knows that it is anything but a linear progression. We zig and we zag, we stop and start, we backtrack and plunge ahead. While we are bouncing all over the place, however, God remains a firm and trustworthy presence. Whatever dangers, toils, and snares we face, at any stage of our lives, we can depend on God as our strength and our hope.
Lord of life, As I grow and change through the years, let me acknowledge you continually as my unshakeable support. Amen.
To hear “O God Our Help in Ages Past,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-60BAhCr5jA
For today’s readings, click here: http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/040720.cfm
