March 31/Fifth Tuesday of Lent O LORD, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you. Hide not your face from me in the day of my distress. ~ Ps 102.2-3 As the days of our distress accumulate, we may well wonder, where is God in all of this? It may seem that God is hiding his face from…
Song 29: The Host with the Most
March 30/Fifth Monday of Lent The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters; 3 he restores my soul. He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are…
Song 28: The Examined Life
March 28/Fourth Saturday of Lent O searcher of heart and soul, O just God. ~ Ps 7.9 Doesn’t it feel as if we are in a time of testing? All of the activities and routines on which we have constructed our lives have been put to the side: going into the office, rooting for our favorite sports team(s), working…
Song 27: Comfort Ye, My People
March 27/Fourth Friday of Lent The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit he saves. ~ Ps 34.19 Everywhere we look, we see the broken-hearted and the crushed in spirit; we ourselves are among them. On top of the quotidian suffering that afflicts our lives — the sudden and untimely death of someone we love,…
Song 26: In God We Trust?
March 26/Fourth Thursday of Lent Our fathers made a calf in Horeb and adored a molten imageThey forgot the God who had saved them, who had done great deeds in Egypt. ~ Ps 106.19, 21 In the end, it is always a lack of trust that ruptures our relationship with God. Whether it was Adam and Eve putting their judgment…
Song 25: Following the Rules
March 25/Fourth Wednesday of LentSolemnity of the Annunciation of the LORD “To do your will, O my God, is my delight, and your law is within my heart.” ~ Ps 40.7 As I sit down to write this afternoon, word has just come that the beaches surrounding the coastal town where I live are being closed to all but property…
Song 24: Peace Like a River
March 24/Fourth Tuesday of Lent There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God, the holy dwelling of the Most High.God is in its midst, it shall not be disturbed; God will help it at the break of dawn. ~ Ps 46.5-6 Whether we live in a dense urban environment or in a sparsely-populated rural area, peace is a…
Song 23: Morning Has Broken
For his anger lasts but a moment; a lifetime, his good will. At nightfall, weeping enters in, but with the dawn, rejoicing. ~ Ps 30.6 For most of us, the worries cluster most densely at night. Surrounded by darkness, with only the void of sleep in front of us, and the light of day a long way off, we toss, we…
Song 22: On Our Heels, On Our Knees
March 21/Third Saturday of Lent For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.My sacrifice, O God, is a crushed spirit; a heart crushed and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. ~ Ps 51.18-19 At such a time as this, when Masses and church services are indefinitely suspended, and the…
Song 21: The Voice of God
March 20/Third Friday of Lent “Hear, my people, and I will admonish you; O Israel, will you not hear me?If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways!” ~ Ps 81.9, 14 We sit down to pray, and immediately start talking. Our individual prayers will vary according to our circumstances, of course, but they pretty much…