March 19/Fourth Friday of LentSolemnity of St. Joseph The steadfast love of the LORD I will sing forever; through all generations my mouth shall proclaim your faithfulness. ~ Ps 89.2 The other night my father was reminiscing about his grandfather, a genteel agnostic who nonetheless ferried his portly Aunt Georgie to church every Sunday, waiting in the car until the service…
Author: Betsy Cahill
Song 26: Taking a Knee
March 18/Fourth Thursday of Lent Our fathers made a calf in Horeb and adored a molten image;They exchanged the glory of God for the image of an ox that eats grass. ~ Ps 106.19-20 We may not regard ourselves as susceptible to bowing down before a molten image (the literal meaning of the Hebrew word translated “adored” is an infrequently-used…
Song 25: Finishing the Hat
March 17/Fourth Wednesday of Lent The LORD is good to all and compassionate toward all his works.The LORD is near to all who call upon him, to all who call upon him in truth. ~ Ps 145.9, 18 Stephen Sondheim’s song “Finishing the Hat,” from the 1984 musical Sunday in the Park with George, is a paean to the creative…
Song 24: Peace Like a River
March 16/Fourth Tuesday of Lent There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High.God is in its midst, it shall not be disturbed; God will help it at the break of dawn. ~ Ps 46.5-6` Peace has been a scarce commodity in our lives, especially in the past year. Whether it…
Song 23: Meeting the Dawn
March 15/Fourth Monday of Lent At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing. You changed my mourning into dancing. ~ Ps 30.6, 13 It has been a long nightfall, these past twelve months. The weeping has been prolonged, and the joy, hard to find. We may have been drawn so deep into the maze of worries and troubles…
Song 22: Me Do It
March 13/Third Saturday of Lent Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. ~ Ps 51.4 Anyone who has been fortunate enough to live with a two-year-old knows that the drive towards doing-it-yourself begins early in life. Pulling a mismatched shirt and shorts out of her drawer, the intransigent toddler insists on dressing herself for pre-school. …
Song 21: Hearing Aid
March 12/Third Friday of Lent “O Israel, if you would but listen to me!If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways, I would feed them with the best of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would fill them.” ~ Ps 81.14, 17 It is a longstanding joke in my family that my father began to…
Song 20: Testing, Testing
March 11/Third Thursday of Lent “Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert,Where your fathers tempted me; they tested me though they had seen my works.” ~ Ps 95.8-9 It is easy to have faith when things are going along smoothly, isn’t it? When our hopes or dreams are realized, when things go…
Song 19: Boundaries
March 10/Third Wednesday of Lent For he has strengthened the bars of your gates. ~ Ps 147.13 Walls, fences, gates — they can function as tools of exclusion. But looked at from another perspective, they create spaces that are protected and apart (interestingly, the Hebrew word for holiness connotes apartness). Think of garden walls that frame a beautiful outdoor room,…
Song 18: Love 101
March 9/Third Tuesday of Lent Make me to know your ways, O LORD; teach me your paths.Lead me in your truth, and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation. ~ Ps 25.4-5 Not long ago, I observed one of those birthdays considered “significant.” Unable to celebrate in suitable fashion, instead I made a list of the people…