March 14/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 Long after we’ve forgotten how to solve a quadratic equation or conjugate a Latin verb, we will remember the energetic young math teacher who brought…
Category: Songs for Lent
Song 17: Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places
March 13/Third Monday of Lent As the hind longs for the running waters, so my soul longs for you, O God.Athirst is my soul for God, the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God? ~ Ps 42.2-3 Deep down, our desires are what drive us – or as the British New Wave duo the Eurythmics…
Song 16: The Fear Factor
March 11/Second Saturday of Lent For as the heavens are high above the earth, so surpassing is his kindness toward those who fear him.As far as the east is from the west, so far has he put our transgressions from us. ~ Ps 103.11-12 Several years ago, midway through a Psalms retreat I was leading for faculty and staff of…
Song 15: Captain Marvel
March 10/Second Friday of Lent Remember the marvels the Lord has done. ~ Ps 105.5 The marvel referred to in today’s verses is that favorite Sunday School story of Joseph – hated by his brothers and sold into slavery in Egypt; falsely accused of sexual advances by Pharaoh’s wife, Potiphar, and imprisoned; redeemed by his God-given skill at interpreting dreams;…
Song 14: Bearing Fruit
March 9/Second Thursday of Lent He is like a tree planted near running water, That yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never wither! ~ Ps 1.3 We had our garden re-landscaped recently, partly as a result of the removal of a large tree that was threatening to damage the neighbor’s property. Our number one priority now that…
Song 13: The Incubator
March 8/Second Wednesday of Lent Into your hands I commend my spirit, for you will redeem me, O Lord, O faithful God.My trust is in you, O Lord, I say, “You are my God.” ~ Ps 31.6 and 15 The story is told in the Talmud (the ancient compendium of rabbinic writings on Jewish law and tradition) of a stranger…
Song 12: Great Expectations
March 7/Second Tuesday of Lent “When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself?I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.” ~ Ps 50.21 When my children were in middle school, their English teacher was notoriously exacting. So granular and numerous were Ms. G’s edits, scrawled…
Song 11: Forget and Forgive
March 6/Second Monday of Lent Remember not against us the iniquities of the past; may your compassion quickly come to us, for we are brought very low! ~ Ps 79.8-9 Sometimes, when I am lying awake in the middle of the night, I begin to replay some of the sinful, shameful moments of my life: the times that I withdrew…
Song 10: If Only
March 4/First Saturday of Lent You have commanded your precepts to be kept diligently; O that my ways may be steadfast in keeping your statutes! ~ Ps 119.4 In the past year or so, I have tried to be more faithful about attending 8 a.m. Mass during the week. The simplicity and quietude of the daily Eucharist is deeply nourishing…
Song 9: The Judgment Seat
March 3/First Friday of Lent If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, Lord, who could stand?But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered. ~ Ps 130.3-4 Aided and abetted by cultural forces that need no rehearsing here, we have become breathtakingly judgmental of the perceived flaws and errors of others — and not shy about voicing those judgments…