February 25/First Thursday of Lent Your right hand saves me. Your kindness, O Lord, endures forever; forsake not the work of your hands. ~ Psalm 138.7-8 Years ago, at a fraught time in my life, a sympathetic friend noticed at dinner one night that I had tucked my thumbs firmly into my clenched hands, and gently asked why I was…
Author: Betsy Cahill
Song 7: Cleaning Up
February 24/First Wednesday of Lent A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. ~ Ps 51.10 I first met this verse — which has served as a touchstone for me throughout my life — as a young Episcopalian choir girl. Our redoubtable choir director, Mrs. D, never missed an opportunity to teach us…
Song 6: Near, and Dear
February 23/First Tuesday of Lent Near is the LORD to the brokenhearted, and the crushed in spirit he saves. ~ Ps 34.19 We soldier on amid confinement and deprivation and isolation, waiting for a better day. Then — an unexpected death, a sudden job loss, a betrayal, and we are brought to our knees in shock and sorrow. The Hebrew conveys…
Song 5: The Peace That Passes Understanding
February 22/First Monday of LentFeast of the Chair of Saint Peter, Apostle The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;he restores my soul. ~ Ps 23.1-3a Before COVID-19, it was our frantic pace and hectic schedules that kept us from attaining the green pastures and still…
Song 4: Dependents
February 20/Saturday after Ash Wednesday Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you. ~ Ps. 86.1-2 It isn’t easy to come right out and call ourselves poor and needy, is it? We have been trained by our culture to…
Song 3: My Bad
February 19/Friday after Ash Wednesday For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always: “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” ~ Ps 51.5-6 Not long ago, after a botched ice-maker repair by a local company, I fumed to my husband, “The worst thing is that they didn’t even apologize!” Reluctance…
Song 2: The Company We Keep
February 18/Thursday after Ash Wednesday Happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. ~ Ps 1.1-2 If there is one thing we have learned as…
Song 1: Mercy Me
February 17/Ash Wednesday Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion, wipe out my offenses. ~ Ps 51.3 We arrive on the doorstep of Lent depleted and weary. We have given up so much already, this year. Indeed, to those of us who have lost friends and relatives, who endure prolonged isolation, who struggle…
Keeping Advent 26: The Dawn of Peace
December 24/Fourth Thursday of Advent In the tender compassion of our God the dawn from on high shall break upon us, to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the way of peace. ~ Luke 1.79 At the very edge of the dark world, a world of deep anxiety,…
Keeping Advent 25: What’s in a Name?
December 23/Fourth Wednesday of Advent He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. ~ Luke 1.63 The other day I came across a list of baby names that my husband and I had compiled more than twenty-five years ago, as we awaited the birth of our first child. All of them were family…