March 3/Thursday after Ash Wednesday Happy 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 If there is one thing we have learned as…
Song 1: Hitting the Reset Button
March 2/Ash Wednesday Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart, with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;Rend your hearts, and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. ~ Joel 2.13 A teacher friend recently observed that this school year — with on-again, off-again mask-wearing, with remote and in-person learning locked in a hateful…
Announcing SONGS FOR LENT: Daily Reflections on the Psalms
Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, March 2. Again this year I will be offering “Songs for Lent,” daily reflections on a verse or verses from the lectionary, embellished with images and music, a link to the readings, and a prayer. In Lent, these meditations will focus on the responsorial psalm, since the psalms lend themselves so beautifully to prayer, indeed, can…
Keeping Advent 27: Let Freedom Ring
December 24/Christmas Eve “This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to set us free from the hand of our enemies, free to worship him without fear, holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.” ~ Luke 1.73-75 On this eve of Christ’s birth, we join with Zechariah to herald the arrival of God in…
Keeping Advent 26: What’s in a Name?
December 23/Fourth Thursday of Advent He asked for a tablet and wrote, “John is his name,” and all were amazed. ~ Luke 1.63 The other day I came across a list of baby names that my husband and I had compiled many years ago, as we awaited the birth of our first child. All of them were family names (although we…
Keeping Advent 25: Devil’s Food
December 22/Fourth Wednesday of Advent He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ~ Luke 1.51 PEWSAGL: the mnemonic I created for the Seven Deadly Sins (Pride, Envy, Wrath, Sloth, Avarice, Gluttony, Lust) still occupies space in my brain from my high school study of Chaucer (and yes, it is fair to ask what truly important facts…
Keeping Advent 24: Waiting for the World to Change
December 21/Fourth Tuesday of Advent For see, the winter is past, the rains are over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of pruning the vines has come, and the song of the dove is heard in our land. ~ Song of Solomon 2.11-12 Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and shield. Our heart rejoices…
Keeping Advent 23: Call and Response
December 20/Fourth Monday of Advent Then Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” ~ Luke 1.38 What if she had said no, this unlettered peasant girl from an obscure Galilean village? After all, the message that God’s messenger Gabriel bore, swooping in (we imagine) on his magnificent wings, meant…
Keeping Advent 22: Why Me?
December 19/Fourth Sunday of Advent Elizabeth . . . said, “And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” ~ Luke 1.42 If there are any fashionable virtues these days — and sometimes it seems that the very concept of virtue is obsolete — we can be sure that humility is not among…
Keeping Advent 21: Exit Strategies
December 18/Third Saturday of Advent Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. Such was his intention when, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home. For it…