Saturday of the Third Week of Lent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 42 Silence After Compline
Mass: Hos 6:1-6; Resp Ps 51; Lk 18:9-14

It is mercy I desire, and not sacrifice.

We are united. Today the prophet Hosea beckons us: Come, let us return to the Lord. Let us return to the Lord who will heal us and bind our wounds (Hos 6:1). With this in mind and heart I was thinking about ways to go about healing what ails us and building loving relationships in our families with creativity, as Pope Francis encourages us (see prayer below). One way to go about this is to "look for friends among the psalms" as then Abbot Basil Hume urged his monks way back in 1966. What is your favorite psalm? If you don't have one, look through the psalter and find a psalm that speaks to you. Or you could use the responsorial psalm for today from Mass (Ps 51). Each member of the family could choose a different psalm and then memorize it. After a few days of praying with it and making it your friend, each member of the family could take their turn and lead the rest of the family in prayer, perhaps naming by name those you would like to include in your prayer. If you find yourself alone, the same can happen. Take time to reflect, mull over, and memorize a psalm. Then including others in your prayer, pray the psalm out loud. Or sing the psalm which is something I like to do. Remember, wherever we find ourselves in corners near and fear, we are united in prayer, faith, and the love Our Lord Jesus Christ.

REND YOUR HEARTS, NOT YOUR GARMENTS, AND RETURN TO THE LORD, YOUR GOD. FOR GRACIOUS AND MERCIFUL IS HE, SLOW TO ANGER, RICH IN KINDNESS, AND RELENTING IN PUNISHMENT.

(Joel 2:13)

We join the Holy Father in prayer:

Today, I would like to remember families who cannot leave their homes. Perhaps the farthest they can go is their balcony … May they know how to find a way of communicating well, of building loving relationships within the family. And that they may know how to conquer the anguish of this moment together in the family. We pray for peace in families today during this crisis, and for creativity.

© Gertrude Feick 2020