Daily Lenten Reflections

Tuesday, February 23, 2021

Tuesday of the First Week

Reflection

The first reading really speaks to the idea that right now—at this time of my life— God is “showering” me with the things I need to grow. The imagery from Isaiah reassures us that God will give us the strength and spiritual nourishment we need to be “fertile and fruitful” to those who are open to receiving God’s grace, and the passage “so shall the word be that goes froth from my mouth” assures us that God’s Word is alive and life-giving to us.

The Psalms are especially appropriate for the penitential season of Lent. We all have things we regret, things we wished had never happened. Sometimes, we want to forget and move on, and God can wipe away our brokenness and the things that separate us from Him when we turn towards Him, asking for healing and forgiveness. The Psalms encourage us to face our mistakes and bring them to God. We have to do so with humility with but also with confidence in God’s immeasurable love for us. We can do this because we know that “when the just cry out, the LORD hears them, and from all their distress he rescues them. The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; and those who are crushed in spirit He saves.”

The Gospel in which Jesus shares the Lord’s Prayer with His disciples is actually somewhat of relief. Sometimes we don’t always know what to say to God or offer just a mumbled rush of words as we race through our busy days, but Jesus urges us to offer words that express the intentions of our hearts and gives us a model to follow. Prayers do not have to be long and formal, but it’s about what we are expressing to God and what is in our hearts that matter more than the length or sophistication of our prayer. God just wants us to stay connected to Him. During this season of Lent, I am going to try to have more frequent “chats” with God throughout the day. In the Lord’s Prayer, there is an emphasis on our responsibility to forgive others. The way we interact with other people—how patient, compassionate and tolerant we are—should be a reflection of the way we have been loved and forgiven by God.

Prayer

Dear God, help us especially right now with what is going on in our world to choose love, to turn the other cheek when we are hurt, to forgive, to love and pray for those who turn against us. Encourage us to love even when we are angry, to love boldly, to reach across our borders, and to bring the love that You give us to those we meet. Remind us that we are all swimming to the other side, to You. Together, let us walk in the footsteps of Jesus each and every day. Amen.

Rada Ruggles, ’23

Scripture

First Reading: Isaiah 55:10-11

Psalm 34:4-7, 16-19

Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

No comments:

Post a Comment

Mission of Edmundite Campus Ministry

The Mission of Edmundite Campus Ministry at Saint Michael’s College is to share the Good News of the Gospel with the College community by facilitating encounter with Jesus Christ. We do this through the celebration of the Church’s Liturgy, in programs promoting knowledge of the Catholic faith, by developing ecumenical and interreligious relationships, and providing retreats and other opportunities for personal spiritual growth.

The Catholic and Edmundite tradition upon which the College was founded is grounded in the conviction that all women and men are created in the image and likeness of God providing a special dignity unique to each person. Such dignity requires human life to be respected in all of its stages recognizing that we are all children of God.

Therefore, in its pursuit of furthering the Reign of God, the Edmundite Campus Ministry staff seeks to interact with and support every member of the College community in their search for Truth, contributing to the “enhancement of the human person and to the advancement of human culture in light of the Catholic faith.”