April 1/Holy Thursday
How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? ~ Ps 116.12
At the day’s end, in the spirit of the Ignatian examen, I try to spend a few moments reflecting on the gifts that God has given me. They can be large — good health, a safe home, the love of my family — or small, from the morning’s freshly-brewed cup of coffee to the White Perfection camellias blooming in the garden. Despite the extended ravages of the pandemic, despite the social divisions and political disagreements that dominate the news (more so than they rule in reality), despite illness and aging and death, there is much to be grateful for. How can we make a return to the Lord, from whom all gifts come? The answer, I believe, is fairly straightforward. It does not lie in conspicuous displays of piety or — as we are told many times — opulent but empty sacrifices. It lies in the simple gift of our hearts. And we give our hearts to God by undertaking ordinary, quotidian acts of love and service: making that long-postponed call to a lonely relative, trudging down to the laundry room to tackle the pile of dirty clothes, or pausing long enough to listen, really listen, to a worried child. In Shakespeare’s King Lear, just after the Earl of Gloucester is viciously blinded, a servant says, “I’ll fetch some flax and whites of eggs / To apply to his bleeding face.” This small gesture of kindness may seem puny against the vast sweep of the tragedy, but it is a pinpoint of light in the gaping darkness. Like this servant, like Jesus who knelt to bathe the dusty feet of those who followed him, what we can give to the world is our care and our love, even in their most mundane forms. That’s how we make good on our debt to the LORD.
O Lord of all creatures great and small, May I readily stoop to conquer the evils of the world with small acts of love. Amen.
For today’s readings, click here: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040121-Evening.cfm
To hear the Choir of King’s College (Cambridge) sing “Now Thank We All Our God,” click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GStAhbJoSA
