Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 48:22-25
Mass: Nb 21:4-9; Resp Ps 102; Jn 8:21-30

O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

WHEN I AM LIFTED UP FROM THE EARTH, I WILL DRAW ALL TO MYSELF, SAYS THE LORD.

(Communion Antiphon, Mass)

I've been thinking about the Sign of the Cross these days as I sign myself during the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours and at Mass. I learned early in theological studies, from dear Fr Paschal, OSB, of happy memory, to be deliberate or intentional when signing myself. These days I've been signing myself with an even bigger cross, and going about it more slowly. In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Thinking about today's readings and the crosses that all of us carry, most often the ones which don't quite fit our shoulders, those that rub us the wrong way and throw us of balance. In other words, the usual daily contradictions and pinpricks that come our ways. We are not alone; we are united in faith, prayer, and the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. These days may be a time to pray with the cross, with our favorite cross or crucifix, and go about it in this way:

I like that because sometimes in the morning when you're tired and have a lot of worries in your head, it's not easy to get the head up to God, so you have to pray with your eyes. Sometimes I just sit and look at the cross and say to myself: in all hospitals there are people dying. A lot of people I meet or who write letters to me are suffering terribly at this moment. So, looking at the cross, I think of all those people sharing that passion, sharing the agony of the Lord. And if God became man—as indeed He did—He came to share a lot of what we all have to live and undergo and gives it meaning and purpose and makes it holy. I find that very powerful, and when people say to me, ‘I’m very worried’ or ‘I’ve just lost my husband’ or ‘There’s been a terrible tragedy in our family—please pray for me,’ I say, ‘Yes, I’ll do it tomorrow morning.’ So sitting in the chapel, looking at the crucifix, I remember that person.
(Basil Hume, Hope from the Cross: Reflections on Jesus' Seven Last Words, p. 77-78).

INCLINE YOUR EAR TO ME, O LORD, IN THE DAY WHEN I CALL, ANSWER ME SPEEDILY.

(Ps 102:3)

We pray with the Holy Father:

We pray today for those who are homeless. In this moment when everyone is supposed to be at home, may society, men and women, realize this reality and help them, and that the Church might welcome them.

© Gertrude Feick 2020