April 19/Sunday of Divine Mercy “My Lord and My God!” ~ Jn 20.28 None of them believed, at first. The apostles dismissed the women’s reports as “nonsense.” They gave no credence to their fellows who saw Jesus in the countryside. Even the two who walked with Christ on the road to Emmaus did not realize who he was. And then…
Easter Tidings 6: Speaking Up, Speaking Out
April 18/Saturday in the Octave of Easter Peter and John said to them in reply, “We are not able not to speak about what we have seen and heard.” ~ Acts 4.20 Living as most of us do in countries where religious freedom is taken for granted, most of us haven’t faced violence or the government-sanctioned oppression of religion as…
Easter Tidings 5: Seizing the Day
April 17/Friday in the Octave of Easter When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. ~ Jn 21.7 Many years ago, when I was a teenager, an Episcopal priest who had been a great mentor to me was due to be installed as rector at…
Easter Tidings 4: Doing Our Part
April 16/Thursday in the Octave of Easter What are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?Yet you have made them a little lower than God, and crowned them with glory and honor.You have given them dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under their feet. ~ Ps 8.4-6…
Easter Tidings 3: Seeing Straight
April 15/Wednesday in the Octave of Easter But Peter looked intently at [the crippled man], as did John, and said, “Look at us.” ~ Acts 3.4Look to the LORD in his strength. ~ Ps 105.4With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him. ~ Luke 24.31 Contact lenses for the myopic, reading glasses for the presbyopic (those with aging…
Easter Tidings 2: Riding It Out
April 14/Tuesday in the Octave of Easter Our soul waits for the LORD, who is our help and our shield. ~ Ps 33.20 Participating in church services, book clubs, happy hours on Zoom. Streaming Pure Barre or Core Power yoga classes online (and hoping the kids or the dog don’t walk in). FaceTiming friends and family across the country, or…
Easter Tidings 1: And Then . . .
April 13/Monday in the Octave of Easter I keep the LORD always before me; because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices; my body also rests secure. ~ Ps 16.8-9 Having read every one of the Hardy Boys mysteries to my youngest child some years ago (there are…
Song 40: On the Verge
April 11/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 10/Good Friday For all my foes I am an object of reproach, a laughingstock to my neighbors, and a dread to my friends; they who see me abroad flee from me.I am forgotten like the unremembered dead; I am like a dish that is broken. ~ Ps 31.12-13 When I was a little girl I had a treasured doll…
Song 38: What to Give the God Who Has Everything
April 9/Holy Thursday How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? ~ Ps 116.12 With the advent of apps like Venmo, we can now repay small debts with a swipe of the screen. But squaring up with God is not quite so easy — in fact, it can’t be done. …