April 3/Holy Saturday You make springs gush forth in the valleys; they flow between the hills, By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation; they sing among the branches. From your lofty abode you water the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work. LORD, how manifold are your works! In wisdom you have made…
Song 39: Broken
April 2/Good Friday I am forgotten like the unremembered dead; I am like a dish that is broken. ~ Ps 31.12-13 We arrive on the doorstep of this Good Friday after a year when so much seems to have been broken. Freedoms we took for granted — to go to the office, to attend social gatherings, to shop for groceries,…
Song 38: Debt Service
April 1/Holy Thursday How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? ~ Ps 116.12 At the day’s end, in the spirit of the Ignatian examen, I try to spend a few moments reflecting on the gifts that God has given me. They can be large — good health, a safe…
Song 37: Darkness Visible
March 31/Wednesday of Holy Week Insult has broken my heart, and I am weak, I looked for sympathy, but there was none; for consolers, not one could I find. I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving. ~ Ps 69.21, 31 It is the rare person who will not have succumbed to “COVID…
Song 36: Our Help, Our Hope
March 30/Tuesday of Holy Week For you are my hope, O LORD; my trust, O God, from my youth.On you I depend from birth; from my mother’s womb you are my strength. ~ Ps 71.5-6 Having recently celebrated, as I have noted, a milestone birthday, I am more grateful than ever for what are now decades-long relationships — with childhood…
Song 35: Lead, Kindly Light
March 29/Monday of Holy Week The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear?The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? ~ Ps 27.1 It is Monday morning, the beginning of a momentous week. The hullabaloo of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on what we know as Palm Sunday is over. The donkey…
Song 34: The Road Home
March 27/Fifth Saturday of Lent The LORD shall ransom Jacob, he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror.Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion, they shall come streaming to the LORD’s blessings. ~ Jer 31.11-12 In the past year, most of us have suffered more acutely than usual from the “condition we call exile,” to borrow the title…
Song 33: A Bulwark Never Failing
March 26/Fifth Friday of Lent I love you, O LORD, my strength, O LORD, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer,My God, my rock of refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my stronghold! ~ Ps 18.2-3 Rock, fortress, and stronghold. Such rugged metaphors befit a psalm that is said to be an expression of gratitude to God after a…
Song 32: Promises to Keep
March 25/Fifth Thursday of Lent He remembers forever his covenant which he made binding for a thousand generations – Which he entered into with Abraham and by his oath to Isaac. ~ Ps 105.8-9 What does it mean to make a covenant? It means that we enter into a relationship based on mutual obligations and assurances. Such compacts, or contracts, are…
Song 31: We Got Rhythm
March 24/Fifth Wednesday of Lent “Praiseworthy and exalted above all forever.” ~ Daniel 3.53 Sometimes prayer flows easily from our hearts to God’s ears; other times, our throats are blocked by anxiety or doubt. In these moments when we are at a loss for words, we might consider reaching for the Bible, to let God pray through us and with…