Tag Archives: Lenten reflections

March 31, 2018 · 6:00 am

Lent Day 40

March 31

Holy Saturday

Everlasting Love

Isaiah 54:5-14

For your Maker is your husband,
the Lord of hosts is his name;
the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer,
the God of the whole earth he is called.
For the Lord has called you
like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit,
like the wife of a man’s youth when she is cast off,
says your God.
For a brief moment I abandoned you,
but with great compassion I will gather you.
In overflowing wrath for a moment
I hid my face from you,
but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,
says the Lord, your Redeemer.

This is like the days of Noah to me:
Just as I swore that the waters of Noah
would never again go over the earth,
so I have sworn that I will not be angry with you
and will not rebuke you.
For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.

O afflicted one, storm-tossed, and not comforted,
I am about to set your stones in antimony,
and lay your foundations with sapphires.
I will make your pinnacles of rubies,
your gates of jewels,
and all your wall of precious stones.
All your children shall be taught by the Lord,
and great shall be the prosperity of your children.
In righteousness you shall be established;
you shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear;
and from terror, for it shall not come near you.

Prayer Thought

Lord, give me the faith and confidence to believe you can and will set things right.

“Forgiveness is not always easy. At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it. And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness.”

English: Unity Church in Unity Village, Missouri (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

—- Marianne Williamson

Our common exile and our common hope: Sunday reflection (hotair.com)

Lent 4 B

March 11

Saved by Grace

Ephesians 4:2-10

²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.

⁷ But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸Therefore it is said,
‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive;
he gave gifts to his people.’
⁹(When it says, ‘He ascended’, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.)

Prayer Thought

Lord, we know that you ate our Savior and Redeemer and without you we are lost and alone.

Forgiveness is the name of love practiced among people who love poorly. The hard truth is that all people love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour increasingly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship of the weak that is the human family.

― Henri J.M. Nouwen

Shroud of Turin replica exhibit comes to Saginaw (mlive.com)
Converted to Compassion (rosesintherubble.com)

Lent Day 9

February 23

I Cry to You Lord

Psalm 130

A Song of Ascents.
¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
² Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!

³ If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

English: Portrait of John of the Cross (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lord, who could stand?
⁴ But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
⁶ my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
⁸ It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.

Prayer Thought

Lord, I believe that you hear me in my distress. Come to my aid.

“In the twilight of life, God will not judge us on our earthly possessions and human successes, but on how well we have loved.”

—John of the Cross