March 21/Second Friday of Lent When [God] summoned famine against the land, and broke every staff of bread,he had sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.His feet were hurt with fetters, his neck was put in a collar of iron;until what he had said came to pass, the word of the LORD kept testing…
Song 14: Bearing Fruit
March 20/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 A few years ago we planted a citrus tree in our garden. It was in a sunny spot and, thanks to the faithful ministrations of the Constant Gardener, aka my husband, the…
Song 13: From Generation to Generation
March 19/Second Wednesday of Lent Solemnity 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 One evening a few years ago, over pre-dinner libations and our favorite Harris Teeter Munchie Mix, my father told the story of his grandfather’s journey to faith. “Wee-Daddy,” as he…
Song 12: All Rise
March 18/Second Tuesday of Lent Why do you recite my statutes, and profess my covenant with your mouth, Though you hate discipline and cast my words behind you?When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it? Or do you think that I am like yourself?To him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.” ~…
Song 11: The Low Country
March 17/Second Monday of Lent Let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you; with your great power free those doomed to death. Then we your people, the flock of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise. ~ Ps…
Song 10: Law-Abiders
March 15/First Saturday of Lent Blessed are they whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD.Blessed are they who observe his decrees, who seek him with all their heart. ~ Ps. 119.1-2 Who among us can honestly look in the mirror and say that her way is blameless, or that he truly walks in the law…
Song 9: Just Deserts
March 14/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 For some time now — ratcheted up in recent years by the turbo engines of social media — one of the ruling dynamics in our civic discourse has been the “gotcha” mode. …
Song 8: Call and Response
March 13/First Thursday of Lent On the day I called, you answered me, you increased my strength of soul. ~ Ps 138.3 Many years ago, when I was a graduate student in an ancient British university, I would wander of an afternoon into my college’s cathedral for Evensong. With candles flickering against the damp dark of the declining day, the…
Song 7: The Penitential Shift
March 12/First Wednesday of Lent A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me. ~ Ps 51.10 Many of us stock our mental or physical pockets with “pocket verses” to remind us of the presence of God throughout the day (I have a few slips in my top dresser drawer from days gone by). …
Song 6: Near, and Dear
March 11/First Tuesday of Lent Near is the LORD to the brokenhearted, and the crushed in spirit he saves. ~ Ps 34.19 The days march along in their regular rhythm, one after another. Then — an unexpected death, a sudden job loss, a betrayal, and we are brought to our knees, shocked and sorrowing. The Hebrew conveys it even more…