Entering into the Paschal Triduum with Our Lady
A Meditation on Psalm 27
Throughout the Gospels, whenever we are given glimpses of Our Lady we see a woman who is profoundly attentive to the Word of God, a woman who is willing to listen to God’s words, to ponder them in her heart, and to surrender to the unfolding of those words in her life, no matter what the cost. Throughout her life on earth, Mary was given glimpses of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross, which is at once the source of all her joys and her deepest experience of sorrow, in which all other sorrows are enfolded. Like Mary, each of us is drawn into the unfolding of the Mystery of God’s Word in our own lives, especially through the liturgy. As we enter into this Mystery during Holy Week this year, it can be helpful to meditate on Our Lady’s attitude of loving surrender, participating in her Son’s saving act of obedience, and to ask her to be with us and to intercede for us as we surrender to and are transformed by this great Mystery.
Let Us Build Tabernacles
“On the last day of the feast [of Tabernacles] Jesus stood up and proclaimed, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink…Out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.’” –Jn. 7:37-38
Lent is a time of returning.
On the first day of Lent, we will be reminded by the prophet Joel: “Even now, says the Lord, return to me with your whole heart…” Returning is at the heart of the Lenten season. Preparation, fasting, mourning, making space for the Lord to come—yes, but above all, returning to Him. We return, to the Living Water to be washed clean, to our first Love to be filled, renewed, and rebuilt, to the Fire of our origin to be purified.
Lent is also a time of building.
Covenant Day
Who is St. Clare?
Saint Clare of Assisi was born on July 16, 1194 into a noble Italian family. In spite of her privileged beginnings, she knew hardship from an early age. She and her family fled into a social exile, taking refuge in the rival territory of Perugia due to the internal strife between classes in her own native town. Her childhood friends and acquaintances from this era of her life would later testify to her goodness, her faith and love for the poor.