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…
Song 5: The Three Rs
March 10/First Monday of Lent The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes;the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true…
Song 4: A User Guide
March 8/Saturday after Ash Wednesday Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you; save your servant who trusts in you.be gracious to me, O LORD, for to you do I cry all day long.Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, I lift…
Song 3: Giving It Up
March 7/Friday after Ash Wednesday For you have no delight in sacrifice; if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God,you will not despise. ~ Ps 51. 18-19 When I was a little girl, the looming arrival of Lent brought on…
March 6/Thursday after Ash Wednesday
March 6/Thursday after Ash Wednesday Blessed are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,or take the path that sinners tread, or sit in the seat of scoffers;but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. ~ Ps 1.1-2 “Are we there yet?” Before the advent of personal…
Song 1: Rules of Engagement
March 5/Ash Wednesday Have mercy on me, God, according to your steadfast love;according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. ~ Ps 51.3 We arrive on the threshold of Lent, this Ash Wednesday 2025, perhaps stunned and a bit battle-weary. With daily political disruptions and system shocks and angry critiques swirling madly around us, we need a pause, a…
Keeping Advent 24: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
December 24/Fourth Saturday of Advent Christmas Eve “You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.” ~ Luke 1.76 We are on the cusp of Christmas. The last Advent calendar window has been opened; the four candles on the Advent wreath have been lit; all the…
Keeping Advent 23: Have You Heard?
December 23/Fourth Monday of Advent And all these matters were discussed throughout the hill country of Judea. ~ Luke 1.65 Some years ago I came across a marvelous poem in The New Yorker, composed by the Italian Giovanni Pascoli and translated by the late, great Irish poet Seamus Heaney, that begins: “In a huddle by the fence/Neighbour women, hard at…