An Apostolate of Persons with Chronic Illness and/or Disability

- Fr. Tim Hayes, EGL 1

Lent Sunday III March 7, 2010

The First Scrutiny teaches us to Thirst for Holiness

God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. “This is my name forever; thus am I to be remembered through all generations.” Exodus 3:15

God is with us in a living relationship. When we seek the source of our strength in the midst of life’s struggles, we will always find God, the God Who Is and Was and Ever Shall Be. God reveals that He has heard our cry and His longing is to set us free. When we respond to God’s Presence and acknowledge Him for Who He Is, we are drawn into His living involvement with His People. If we do not give God first place in our lives, we must repent. Our lives are meant to bear fruit in bringing others to an awareness of the Truth. This entails knowing and living in accord with the Truth. Jesus’ call to repentance can be heard in the Sacramental life of the Church, especially in the Sacrament of Penance. Confession is good for the soul. Be reconciled to God!

From Pope Benedict XVI:

By nature, [man] is open to sharing freely, but he finds in his being a strange force of gravity that makes him turn in and affirm himself above and against others: this is egoism, the result of original sin. Adam and Eve, seduced by Satan’s lie, snatching the mysterious fruit against the divine command, replaced the logic of trusting in Love with that of suspicion and competition; the logic of receiving and trustfully expecting from the Other with anxiously seizing and doing on one’s own (cf. Gn 3, 1-6), experiencing, as a consequence, a sense of disquiet and uncertainty. How can man free himself from this selfish influence and open himself to love?

3/ 8 MONDAY: But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, though testified to by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

Do I have an attitude that opens up to God’s Justice, the Righteousness that He manifests to all? How open in my spirit to those outside of my usual circle of relationships? To those most in need?

3/ 9 TUESDAY: For there is no distinction; all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.

Am I able to admit humbly to my own sinfulness? Where do I claim glory that is not truly mine? Do I make distinctions between myself and others that God does not make?

3/10 WEDNESDAY: They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, Whom God set forth as an expiation, through faith, by His Blood, to prove His righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed, through the forbearance of God–to prove His righteousness in the present time, that He might be righteous and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

3/11 THURSDAY: Therefore, since we have a great High Priest Who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.

Do I have a clear understanding of my own share in the Priesthood of Jesus Christ and my interdependence with others who share that Priesthood – clergy, religious and laity? How do I hold fast to this confession? Does my life show evidence of this?

3/12 FRIDAY: Abstinence from meat with the whole Church.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One Who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.

Am I aware of how my weaknesses bring me closer to Christ and His embracing of the human condition in its full reality? How am I being tested now and where do I discover the strength to endure?

3/13 SATURDAY: So let us confidently approach the Throne of Grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

What petitions do I bring personally to the Throne of Grace? What aspect of Divine Mercy is entrusted to me to make known by my life and prayer in relation to others?

3/14 SUNDAY Worship with the community.

The Justice of God Has Been Manifested through Faith in Jesus Christ.”

What does my Faith in Jesus Christ reveal to me about God’s Justice today? How do I respond to this new awareness? How am I in need of deeper conversion?

- Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

Today’s Gospel passage illustrates an interesting facet of the Gospels and the evangelists who wrote them. Matthew, Mark and Luke all mention the encounter that Jesus had with the fruitless fig tree. However, the end of the story as Luke tells it is quite different than the way Mark and Matthew tell it. Luke’s ending illustrates his image of Jesus and, consequently, his image of God, which is decidedly different than the image we get from Matthew and Mark.

In the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, Jesus curses the fruitless fig tree. Immediately it withers and dies. When the apostles marvel at this, Jesus uses the episode to reinforce the notion that one can do just about anything if he/she has faith.

In the Gospel of Luke, the fig tree episode becomes a parable. The owner of the land comes to his farm expecting to find a harvest. When he discovers the fruitless fig tree, he tells the tenant farmer to dig it up and cast it aside. The farmer begs the owner to give him a year to produce a harvest. If it still fails to bear fruit in another year’s time, then he will destroy the tree. The fig tree gets another chance.

The parable follows hard on two sayings about repentance involving people who were slaughtered by Pilate and who were killed in an accident. Jesus uses them as examples of what will happen to people who fail to repent.

Luke consistently portrays Jesus as compassionate and merciful towards the repentant sinner. We see this time and again in the ministry of Jesus as he makes his way to Jerusalem. That compassion reaches a climax while Jesus is hanging on the cross and bestows that compassion and forgiveness to the repentant thief who hangs on the cross next to him. Luke is the only evangelist to record this particular detail of the passion of Jesus.

Our Lenten journey is a journey of repentance, of atoning for our sins. We are all guilty. All of us are sinners. We are all in need of repentance. Some people sit and worry about their sinful past. Others look to the future and maintain that they will repent later. However, as St. Paul has reminded us in his second letter to the Corinthians: Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. (2 Corinthians 6:2b) Procrastination in this instance could prove fatal.

- Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

The parable of the “Prodigal Son” is one of the best loved and most frequently used stories of the Gospel. So much ink and so many writers have used it as the basis of their reflections that it would be hard to find something new to say about it.

Henri Nouwen’s book by the same name is one of the more popular works on this parable. Fr. Nouwen asks us to place ourselves in the position of the three main characters of the story, considering ourselves as father, older and younger brother. Doing so makes us look at the story from various perspectives and helps us to see that we all fit into the story in very different ways depending upon the present circumstances of our lives.

Some have suggested that women look at the story differently than men. They ask the question, “Was the mother part of the family life at the time this story took place?” They maintain that the presence of the mother would have undoubtedly influenced the response of the father. They point to the fact that the Hebrew word for compassion is the plural form of the word which translates into “womb.” “Rahamin” explicitly connects compassion to the female side of our personalities.

Dorothy Day looked at the parable this way: God is on the side even of the unworthy poor, as we know from the story Jesus told of his Father and the prodigal son. Charles Peguy, in “God Speaks,” has explained it perfectly. Readers often object that the prodigal son returned penitent to his father’s house. But who knows, he might have gone out and squandered money on the next Saturday night; he might have refused to help with the farm work and asked to be sent to finish his education instead, thereby further incurring his brother’s righteous wrath, and the war between the worker and the intellectual, or the conservative and the radical, would be on. Jesus has another answer to that one: to forgive one’s brother seventy times seven. There are always answers, although they are not always calculated to soothe.”

The Gospel for this Saturday asks us to sit with the story once again. Where do we fit into the story. Are we the prodigal? Are we the older brother clinging to his righteousness? Are we the forgiving father figure? Or do we lurk in the shadows of the story looking on and wondering how God responds to our sin? The story will come back again this Lent when it is used on Sunday, March 14. Will it find us in the same place? Can we perhaps find a way for the story to move us to repentance? or to the need to forgive?

- Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

Lenten fasting has produced some interesting foods over the years. There is the familiar Mother Goose rhyme: “One a penny, two a penny, hot cross buns; if you have no daughters, give them to your sons.” Hot cross buns are still eaten in some places on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. The buttery dough of the bun is topped with an icing cross.

In former years, Lent was a time of “partial” abstinence. This meant that Catholics ate meat only once a day during the Lenten season. In some cultures, the meat was prepared in such a way as to make it virtually tasteless without sauces or gravies. Then on Easter Sunday, the family would sit down to dinner with the spices and relishes that awoke one’s dulled palate. Horseradish and creamy gravies were used liberally.

The pretzel is another food that has its origins during Lent. Early Christians ate no dairy products during Lent. The pretzel was made of flour, salt, and water. Notice that there is no milk or eggs in the recipe. To remind the person of the Lent season, the dough was formed to create the illusion of two arms joined in prayer. These little arms, bretzel in German, came to be known as pretzels.

Fish was the usual fare during Lent. However, because of the lack of refrigeration, those people who lived far from the sea were forced to eat salted or pickled fish. When the immigrants of Europe began to come to the shores of the New World, they were unprepared for the vast expanses of land far away from the coastal waters of the oceans. So during Lent, since pickled herring and salted cod were not available, Lenten fare often consisted of pancakes. On Sundays, the pancakes would be made with refined flour and would be sweetened with syrup. On the weekdays, pancakes would be made of the coarser buckwheat and would be unsweetened.

Some anti-Catholic epithets evolved because of Lenten and penitential practices. Catholics were called “mackerel snappers” because of the custom of going without meat on Fridays and during Lent. Mackerel was a fish commonly eaten by poorer Catholics who could not afford other fare.

Pope Paul VI revised the penitential practices of the Catholic Church after the Second Vatican Council. Instead of imposing certain penances upon the general population, he asked people to look at their lives in a mature fashion and to decide for themselves how best to keep the Lenten penitential season. The Lenten regulations were made much simpler. Fasting was imposed only on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday for those who were between the ages of 21 and 59. Meatless Fridays were kept for the six Fridays of Lent and on Good Friday. Other than that, Catholics were asked to embrace the notion of the Gospel mandate of prayer, fasting and alms giving according to their situation in life. Whereas it had once been considered a rather serious sin to eat meat on Friday, now the regulations only consider it sinful if one completely disregards the Lenten penitential requirements. There are some who have not been able to adjust to this broader notion and still seek a dispensation from eating meat on Friday when the Feast of St. Joseph or St. Patrick falls on a Friday. A careful reading of the encyclical of Pope Paul VI reveals that such a dispensation is not necessary.

Spiritual maturity is demonstrated when a person realizes what kind of penance best fits one’s lifestyle. Obviously, eating shrimp and lobster every day of Lent could hardly be considered penance even though it would fulfill the letter of the law.

- Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

Search as you might through the Gospel passage that is presented for this Thursday in the second week of Lent, you will not be able to find any mention of a misdeed on the part of the rich man. He broke no laws. He did not participate in any wrong doing. He is not guilty of any infraction of the traditional ten commandments. Yet he is punished for his lack of concern for the poor man who lay outside his door.

There could be many reasons for the fact that we usually think of sin in terms of “breaking the rules.” The questions asked of a confessor are usually framed in those terms. Did I do something wrong? This is definitely the way our civil system of jurisprudence works. It is incumbent upon the prosecutor to prove that the defendant did something wrong. If Dives were brought before a civil magistrate, he would have been exonerated.

The only thing of which Dives the rich man is guilty is the fact that he was blind to the suffering of a fellow human being. He didn’t notice the poor man who lived literally right under his feet. For years he had been sustaining his subsistence lifestyle by picking up the scraps, the left overs of his rich neighbor.

If we are expecting God’s judgment to be similar to our legal system, we may be in for a huge surprise. The commandment which we have been given is not about what we should not do. The commandment is to love both God and neighbor. All of the “Thou shalt nots” of the Bible do not sum up the baptismal covenant we have made with God. A careful reading of the prophets of the Old Testament bears this out. The people of Israel were chided for the fact that they failed to care for the orphan and the widow and the alien who lived among them.

We tend be blind to the suffering of others until something shakes us up. Earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions tend to get a great deal of ink in our media. Fires, storms, and natural disasters often prompt people to ask how God can let such things happen to innocent people. However, one has to admit that these things do prompt us to be good to those who are in need. Natural disasters wake us up and point out that there are many, many people who suffer because of crushing poverty. It takes eyes of faith to notice people in need. Blessed is the one who reaches out to those in need without the aid of earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, fires or natural disaster of any kind.

- Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

“Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.” (Matthew 20:18-19)

As I mentioned in last Sunday’s blog, Lent has shifted into second gear. In addition to the consideration of prayer, fasting, and charity, we also are asked to consider the sacrifice that Jesus made for the sake of our sins by dying on a cross on Calvary, just outside Jerusalem. One of the devotions that gains even more popularity during the Season of Lent is that of the Stations of the Cross. By following the path Jesus walked from the judgement seat Gabbatha to the place of execution Golgatha, we enter into the passion and death of Jesus in a personal way.

This devotion was popularized by the Franciscan friars. In the fourteenth century, the friars were charged with the care of the various shrines of the Holy Land, a work which is still under the aegis of the Franciscan Order. They established the various “stations” of the cross and named the path which led the pilgrim to Calvary the Via Dolorosa. Even today, although the route varies from time to time, pilgrims to Jerusalem still walk the path and pause at the fourteen stations as they ponder the wondrous gift of redemption that comes through the death of Jesus.

Several of the stations involve interaction between Jesus and other men and women. Pilate condemns him in the first station. The Roman soldiers place the cross on his shoulders on the second. In the fourth, Jesus meets his mother. In the fifth and sixth station, Jesus is assisted by Simon of Cyrene and comforted by Veronica. The women of Jerusalem are addressed in the eighth station. Joseph of Arimathea removes his body from the cross in the thirteenth station. Each of these particular stations allows us the possibility of placing ourselves in the story. Each time Jesus interacts with another human being in the course of his passion, we are able to place ourselves in the circumstances. In so doing, we consider what we have done to contribute to the passion of Jesus either positively or negatively.

Many different saints have composed their own prayers and devotions as they accompanied Jesus on the road to Calvary. They are still part of the devotional life of the Church. There are also many popular formulas for this devotion available. Those who bear the cross of chronic illness and or disability could probably write their own prayers for this devotion. Whichever way appeals to you, it is indeed a worthwhile devotion for all of us as we accompany Jesus on the journey to Jerusalem.

- Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

I have mentioned before that the word “Lent” comes from the German word “Lenz.” It translates into “spring.” Whether we live in the northern or southern hemisphere, the activities in which most humans engage in spring give us an insight into the spiritual spring of our lives.

First of all, many people engage in an activity called “spring cleaning.” After a winter of living in homes that have been shut up against the winter cold, we air out our homes and fill them with fresh air. At the same time, mindful of the dust and soot that our furnaces create as they heat our homes during winter, we also engage in some heavy duty cleaning. Although most of us now heat with the cleaner gas rather than coal, the fans of our furnaces usually manage to deposit a coat of dust on most surfaces of our homes as well as in the fabric of our draperies and furniture. So we clean.

Analogous to the spring cleaning of our homes, we might also do well to do some spring cleaning of our souls. Lent is a perfect time to approach the Sacrament of Penance, to make a complete confession of our sins, to seek the forgiveness of God for our misdeeds and for our sins of omission.

Another activity that occupies our minds during the spring that of preparing to plant our gardens or, in the case of the farmers, our fields. It will soon be time to plant our seeds in order to realize the harvest of autumn. Some begin “starter” plants in on the window sill or in the basement. Others till the soil and prepare it for planting. The Lenten Scriptures point to the work that must be done if we are to realize a rich spiritual harvest. As Rudolf Peil put it: “The soul must be harrowed by penance and contrition in order that the divine seed of the holy season of Lent may bring forth an abundant harvest.”

Paying attention to the Scriptures at this time of the year is particularly helpful in our spiritual journey. They provide us with the compass or the guide we need as we travel through the desert with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. They nourish our souls as we deprive our bodies of food or drink in penance for our sins. They indicate those parts of our lives that may need special attention, the places where we have grown lazy or indulgent. They remind us to put away the misdeeds of winter and to prepare for the new life of spring. The prophet Isaiah, for instance, places this direction before us today: Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. . . (Isaiah 1:16) Simply put, but a potent reminder.

Lent Sunday II February 28, 2010

Year C Readings: http://www.usccb.org/nab/022810.shtml

The Penitential Scrutiny opens up the grace of Baptism

Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we also await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will change our lowly body to conform with His glorified body by the power that enables Him also to bring all things into subjection to Himself.

Philippians 3:20-21

Every baptized person is plunged into Christ. All of Salvation History is caught up into the transfiguration into Glory that God wills for humanity in Christ. Abram hears God’s promise and believes. Moses and Elijah enter into the New Testament after dramatic “disappearances” at the end of their earthly journeys, seeing the Promised Land and all of creation claimed for God in Christ. Peter, James and John see a glimpse of the glory of Jesus without yet understanding its import. Our own bodies are destined to share in the fullness of salvation. Time and History are on a trajectory that leads to Christ’s full reign. We are citizens of His Kingdom and we await the full revelation of His Salvation among us.

From Pope Benedict XVI:

What is the Cause of Injustice?

The Evangelist Mark reports the following words of Jesus, which are inserted within the debate at that time regarding what is pure and impure: “There is nothing outside a man which by going into him can defile him; but the things which come out of a man are what defile him … What comes out of a man is what defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts” (Mk 7, 14-15, 20-21). Beyond the immediate question concerning food, we can detect in the reaction of the Pharisees a permanent temptation within man: to situate the origin of evil in an exterior cause. Many modern ideologies deep down have this presupposition: since injustice comes “from outside,” in order for justice to reign, it is sufficient to remove the exterior causes that prevent it being achieved. This way of thinking – Jesus warns – is ingenuous and shortsighted. Injustice, the fruit of evil, does not have exclusively external roots; its origin lies in the human heart, where the seeds are found of a mysterious cooperation with evil. With bitterness the Psalmist recognises this: “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Ps 51,7). Indeed, man is weakened by an intense influence, which wounds his capacity to enter into communion with the other.

* * * * * * *

How do you strive to acknowledge the presence of sin in your own heart? In what ways are you seeking grace to allow a transformation from within? Can you see the Spirit at work in you and in others to change our lowly bodies into bearers of glory?

3/ 1 MONDAY: But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law,
though testified to by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.

Do I have an attitude that opens up to God’s Justice, the Righteousness that He manifests to all? How open in my spirit to those outside of my usual circle of relationships? To those most in need?

3/ 2 TUESDAY: For there is no distinction; all have sinned and are deprived of the glory of God.

Am I able to admit humbly to my own sinfulness? Where do I claim glory that is not truly mine? Do I make distinctions between myself and others that God does not make?

3/ 3 WEDNESDAY: They are justified freely by His grace through the redemption in Christ Jesus, Whom God set forth as an expiation, through faith, by His Blood, to prove His righteousness because of the forgiveness of sins previously committed, through the forbearance of God–to prove His righteousness in the present time, that He might be righteous and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

Prayer Intention: Justice for those at the end of Life’s Journey awaiting the call to Eternity.

3/ 4 THURSDAY: Therefore, since we have a great High Priest Who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession.

Do I have a clear understanding of my own share in the Priesthood of Jesus Christ and my interdependence with others who share that Priesthood – clergy, religious and laity? How do I hold fast to this confession? Does my life show evidence of this?

3/ 5 FRIDAY: Abstinence from meat with the whole Church.

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One Who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin.

Am I aware of how my weaknesses bring me closer to Christ and His embracing of the human condition in its full reality? How am I being tested now and where do I discover the strength to endure?

3/ 6 SATURDAY: So let us confidently approach the Throne of Grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

What petitions do I bring personally to the Throne of Grace? What aspect of Divine Mercy is entrusted to me to make known by my life and prayer in relation to others?

3/ 7 SUNDAY Worship with the community.

“The Justice of God Has Been Manifested through Faith in Jesus Christ.”

What does my Faith in Jesus Christ reveal to me about God’s Justice today? How do I respond to this new awareness? How am I in need of deeper conversion?

- Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

Our Lenten journey shifts into second gear with the passage of the Second Sunday of Lent. Traditionally, the Gospel reading for this day is always one of the versions of the event that has come to be known as the “Transfiguration” of Jesus. All three of the synoptic Gospels take their turn in describing the events that took part the hillside while Peter, James and John looked on. St. Luke adds two details missing in the other two synoptic evangelists’ accounts.

First, St. Luke tells us why the quartet was on the hillside to begin with; they had gone there to pray. Encounters with God in the Scriptures take place most often atop a hill or a mountain. In the mind of the Hebrew people, God lived “on high”; hence, if one wishes to be in God’s presence, one climbed a mountain. St. Luke’s Gospel includes many references to the time Jesus spent in prayer. It seems quite natural that this particular even should take place in the context of prayer on a mountaintop.

Secondly, St. Luke tells us that in the midst of the encounter with Moses and Elijah, Jesus was conversing with them about his “exodus,” his passing over. Immediately before the band of men wnt to the mountain to pray, Jesus had told his apostles that he would be going to Jerusalem and that he would die there at the hands of the authorities. Now he is talking about that very subject with two figures who have already experienced it. You will remember that Moses and the Hebrew people “passed over” the Red Sea while death in the form of Pharoah and his army pursued them. Elijah also experienced it as he and his disciple Elisha came to the River Jordan. Elijah slapped the river with this cloak and walked over the River dry shod. When he got to the other side, he was met by a fiery chariot which whisked him off to heaven. Who better to speak to Jesus about the end of life than these two figures from the religious heritage of Israel.

As I said at the outset of this blog entry, we shift into second gear. The first days of Lent have been spent considering the three-fold character of this season – prayer, fasting, and charity. Now a fourth element is added on. We are invited to enter into Jesus’ last days, the days of his passion and death which will culminate with our celebration of the Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ on April 2. At the same time, we recall that death is but the doorway to everlasting life, not only for Jesus, but for us as well. Just as Jesus will be transformed by death, we too will experience the dazzling brightness of new life.

We continue, then, on our own prayer journey into the desert with Jesus and the Holy Spirit as we move ever closer to our own exodus, our own passing over.

- Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

The meaning of the word Deuteronomy is literally “second law.” The book is so called because it records the fact that Moses stops the people of Israel as they reach the River Jordan, makes them pitch camp, and then reviews the covenant, the Law. Perhaps it is the former high school teacher in me that makes me smile at the notion of a review, something every teacher has done in an attempt to help his/her students comprehend the body of material. However, the other aspect of this review that I really appreciate is Moses’ emphasis on “today.” Over and over again, he uses that word to impress upon the Israelites that their relationship with God is a matter of the present, not the past, and certainly not the future.

Moses knows that he will not cross the River Jordan with Israel. God has already told him that his leadership of the Israel has come to an end, that they will cross over into the Promised Land without him. He will climb Mount Nebo where he will meet God for the final time. However, before he lets them go, he takes his last opportunity to impress their responsibilities upon them.

“This day the LORD, your God, commands you to observe these statutes and decrees. Be careful, then, to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. Today you are making this agreement with the LORD: he is to be your God and you are to walk in his ways and observe his statutes, commandments and decrees, and to hearken to his voice. And today the LORD is making this agreement with you: you are to be a people peculiarly his own, as he promised you; and provided you keep all his commandments, he will then raise you high in praise and renown and glory above all other nations he has made, and you will be a people sacred to the LORD, your God, as he promised.” (Deuteronomy 26:16-20)

“This day,” “today,” “and today” – over and over again, Moses makes the point that what really matters in our relationship with God is “today.” We all have a history, and that history includes a sinful past. We have all failed, all fallen short in our attempt to observe the dictates of God. Rather than taking the time to make excuses for those failures, rather than trying to justify our missteps, Moses impresses upon us the necessity of recommitting ourselves to that covenant relationship day after day. Rather than fretting over the mistakes of the past, God is looking for us to renew our covenant of love each and every day.

The Church emphasizes this point in its daily prayer as it begins each and every day with the Invitatory psalm, Psalm 95: Oh, that today you would hear God’s voice. . . (Psalm 95:7b) It is also the most frequently used psalm of the lectionary. “If today you hear God’s voice, harden not your heart.”