April 3/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: Follow the Leader
April 2/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 Today let us slip our feet into the worn sandals of Abram, seventy-five years old and a long-time resident of Haran (probably in present-day Turkey). One…
Song 31: We Got Rhythm
April 1/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, particularly when we are buried under extra layers of stress, the heart is silenced by anxiety or doubt. In these moments of incapacity, we might consider reaching for the Bible, to let God pray…
Song 30: Missing
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…