March 8/First Tuesday of Lent The righteous cry, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.Near is the LORD to the brokenhearted, and the crushed in spirit he saves. ~ Ps 34.19 We have soldiered on amid the pandemic’s uncertainties and challenges, waiting for a better day. Then — an unexpected death, a sudden job loss, a…
Song 5: Addressing the Lord
March 7/First Monday of Lent Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heartbe acceptable to you, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. ~ Ps 19.15 What does it mean for “the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart” to “be acceptable” to the Lord? Does the psalmist mean that there is a…
Song 4: Dependence Day
March 5/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? From an early age, we have been schooled by…
Song 3: To Tell the Truth
March 4/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 There was once a nine-year-old boy, his teeth newly in braces, whose mother suspected that he was chewing bubble gum — against the orthodontist’s orders. Under gentle…
Song 2: The Company We Keep
March 3/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: Hitting the Reset Button
March 2/Ash Wednesday Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;Rend your hearts, and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. ~ Joel 2.13 A teacher friend recently observed that this school year — with on-again, off-again mask-wearing, with remote and in-person learning locked in a hateful…
Announcing SONGS FOR LENT: Daily Reflections on the Psalms
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 2. Again this year I will be offering “Songs for Lent,” daily reflections on a verse or verses from the lectionary, embellished with images and music, a link to the readings, and a prayer. In Lent, these meditations will focus on the responsorial psalm, since the psalms lend themselves so beautifully to prayer, indeed, can…
Keeping Advent 27: Let Freedom Ring
December 24/Christmas Eve “This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hand of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.” ~ Luke 1.73-75 On this eve of Christ’s birth, we join with Zechariah to herald the arrival of God in…
Keeping Advent 26: What’s in a Name?
December 23/Fourth Thursday 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 many years ago, as we awaited the birth of our first child. All of them were family names (although we…
Keeping Advent 25: Devil’s Food
December 22/Fourth Wednesday of Advent He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ~ Luke 1.51 PEWSAGL: the mnemonic I created for the Seven Deadly Sins (Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, Lust) still occupies space in my brain from my high school study of Chaucer (and yes, it is fair to ask what truly important facts…