"Happy are those....whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth...who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed; who gives food to the hungry." -Psalm 146:5-7
"For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to the cry of my supplication." - Psalm 86:5-6
I thought this fifth week of Lent would be a good time to pray for those who do suffer from hunger.
"O God, I pray for all those around the world who struggle with hunger and suffer from malnutrition. Grant them the strength and courage as they work for themselves and their communities. May conflicts cease, crops flourish and good governance grow. In the name of Jesus, who is the Bread of Life for the world. Amen."
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." - Lamentations 3: 22-23
Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, in verdant pastures he gives me repose.
Beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul.
He guides me in right paths for his name's sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff that give me courage.
You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes;
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life;
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.
I hope we can all say that we are filled with joy because we are truly aware that the Lord has done great things for us. If we are not filled with that joy, perhaps we should be reflecting on all the graces and gifts that the Lord has given to each of us.
The Gospel is from John 8: 1-11 and is the story of the woman caught in adultery. The Gospel does not mention the man; the scribes and Pharisees only brought the woman and made her stand in the middle while they tell Jesus that they caught her in the very act of committing adultery. According to the law, they are to stone such women. To test Jesus, they ask him what he thinks. Jesus just bends down and begins to write on the ground with his finger. He tells them, "Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her." Again, he bent down and wrote on the ground. They went away one by one, beginning with the elders. When he was left alone with the woman, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?' Then Jesus says, "Neither do I condemn you. Go and from now on do not sin any more."
I Dream A World
I dream a world where men no other men will scorn,
Where love will bless the earth and peace its paths adorn.
I dream a world where all will know sweet freedom's way,
Where greed no longer saps the soul, nor avarice blights our day.
A world I dream where black or white, whatever race you be,
Will share the bounties of the earth and every man is free,
Where wretchedness will hang its head, and joy, like a pearl,
Attends the needs of all mankind- of such I dream, my world!
I am not sure what mischief will be around today, but it is good to remember that it is April Fool's Day.
It is also the First Friday and I have been reading the life of Pedro Arrupe. I think I mentioned before that the title of this book is Pedro Arrupe: Witness of the Twentieth Century, Prophet of the Twenty-First, by Pedro Miguel Lamet. I is almost 500 pages, but I am loving it. He had great devotion to the Heart of Jesus and helped others to have it also.
I have just finished another book that I loved and read in just a few days this week. It is the life of Mother Xavier Murphy, RSCJ, who came to America in 1822 and spent the years until her death at Grand Coteau, Louisiana. Most of that time she was superior and had a great influence on that part of Louisiana. The title of the book is Anna Xavier Murphy, RSCJ: (1793-1836) Missionary to Louisiana and the authors are Mary Blish, RSCJ and Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ. It was published for the bicentennial of our school in Grand Coteau, but we did not have any copies here until I asked and received this one from Sister Osiek. I am most grateful and it has now been given to our library so others may enjoy it.
Xavier Murphy was a holy Religious of the Sacred Heart that worked tirelessly to spread the faith in Louisiana. The boarding school flourished under her direction and she had a very small community. She was able to receive 100 boarders when she built the rest of the beautiful building that one can see today.
"I am where God wills me to be, and so I have found rest and security.
God's wisdom governs me,
God's power defends me,
God's mercy encompasses me,
God's joy sustains me,
And all will go well with me."
I keep this on my desk and find it helps me to feel deep peace and joy.
"Christ's is the seed and Christ's is the harvest;
May he gather us all in his barn.
Christ's is the sea and Christ's the fish;
May his net embrace us all."
Let us pray and offer all we do today for peace!
"Above all remember that you are the most cherished object of God's most tender love. May God convince you of that."
I put a large "Amen!" under it and wrote on the back my gratitude. Giving a Busy Person's Retreat is always a grace.
I also had a zoom with the group that I spent last Saturday morning with on zoom doing a Guided Imagery. This Saturday, the entire group on zoom shared the fruit of our guided imagery and I was so impressed with the sharing of each. I also was reminded today of what my director told me in the wonderful 30-day retreat I had in Spain years ago. He told me that God only wants me to be effective, not efficient. I think that has helped me over the years to do many things that have been effective, if not always efficient.
It is always helpful to pray over this parable. Jesus was aware that the Pharisees and scribes were complaining because Jesus both welcomed sinners and ate with them. So, Jesus tells them about the father who has two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance and then leaves. He spends all he has and is reduced to feeding pigs and wishing he could eat the husks he gives them. Finally, he realizes that his father's hired workers have more than enough to eat, and he needs to go back and beg to be treated as one of the hired workers. Before he can arrive, his father caught sight of him and is filled with compassion. "He ran to his son and kissed him." Then he gives a feast to celebrate his son's return. The other brother is angry and refuses to go in to rejoice at his brother's return. The father comes out and tells him: "My son, you are here with me always; everything I have is yours. But now we must celebrate and rejoice, because your brother was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found."
I love this Gospel for I am sure the God is always waiting for us and wants to love us, if we just let Him.
