Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Mary Magdalene and Easter at St Luke’s, Balm for my Soul April 17, 2022 Isaiah 65:17-25 | 1 Corinthians 15:19-26  | Acts 10:34-43 | John 20:1-18 or Luke 24:1-12 | Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24Eight years ago, when my husband and I decided to move to...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 A test of faith indeed!April 16, 2022 Genesis 1:1-2:4a [The Story of Creation] | Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18, 9:8-13 [The Flood] | Genesis 22:1-18 [Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac] | Exodus 14:10-31; 15:20-21 [Israel's deliverance at the Red...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? April 15, 2022 Isaiah 52:13-53:12  |  Hebrews 10:16-25 or Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9  |  John 18:1-19:42  |  Psalm 22My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?Psalm 22:1These words of anguish and...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Unless I wash you, you have no share with me. April 14, 2022   Click photo to enlarge Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14  |  1 Corinthians 11:23-26  |  John 13:1-17, 31b-35  |  Psalm 116:1, 10-17It has been many years since I...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 If we can love with this sense of humility, openness, and tenderness, what a world we might help to create!April 14, 2022 Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14  |  1 Corinthians 11:23-26 |  John 13:1-17, 31b-35 |  Psalm 116:1, 10-17Wow, what a rich...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 “Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.” April 13, 2022 Isaiah 50:4-9a | Hebrews 12:1-3 | John 13:21-32 | Psalm 70These scripture readings were a bit of a struggle...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 He can be my castle and stronghold. April 12, 2022 Isaiah 49:1-7  |  1 Corinthians 1:18-31  |  John 12:20-36  |  Psalm 71:1-14For a variety of reasons, I’ve been thinking a lot about shame recently. One reason is that Tim and I had the...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Courage to Choose LoveApril 11, 2022 Isaiah 42:1-9 | Hebrews 9:11-15 | John 12:1-11 | Psalm 36:5-11 In today’s Gospel from John, we are invited to sit at the dinner table of Lazarus. Two of the prominent individuals at the dinner are Mary...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Mary? Mary Who? Which Mary? April 9, 2022 Ezekiel 37:21–28 | John 11:45–53 | Psalm 85:1–7 In my Irish Catholic family, I can count at least six immediate Aunt Marys:  my Mom’s sister Aunt Mary Sommer, my Dad’s sister Aunt Mary Gumper, two of...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 I Called upon the LORD in my distressApril 8, 2022 Jeremiah 20:7–13 | John 10:31–42 | Psalm 18:1–7Psalm 18:6-76  I called upon the Lord in my distress *and cried out to my God for help.7  He heard my voice from his heavenly dwelling; *my cry...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Rocking Our Souls April 7, 2022 Genesis 17:1–8 | John 8:51–59  | Psalm 105:4–11Rock-a my soul in the bosom of Abraham,Rock-a my soul in the bosom of Abraham,Rock-a my soul in the bosom of Abraham,Oh, rock-a my soul!As memories are wont to...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Praise the Lord anyway. April 5, 2022 Numbers 21:4–9 | John 8:21–30 | Psalm 102:15–22“Let this be written for a future generationSo that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord”Sometime around the  9th – 5th century before Christ was even...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 “I shall fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”April 4, 2022 Susanna [1–9,15–29,34–40],41-62 | John 8:1–11 or John 8:12–20 | Psalm 23The lessons from Susanna and John 8:1–11 are similar but provide...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Once upon a time they lived happily ever after.April 3, 2022 Isaiah 43:16-21 | Philippians 3:4b-14 | John 12:1-8 | Psalm 126When I was an elementary counselor working in classrooms, I used puppets to tell and illustrate stories. At the...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Living Water April 2, 2022 Jeremiah 11:18–20 | John 7:37–52| Psalm 7:6–11In John Chapter 7, Jesus cries out to the crowds at a festival, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes me drink. As the scripture has said,...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 My heart is with the Ukrainian people.April 1, 2022 Wisdom 2:1a,12–24 | John 7:1–2,10,25–30 | Psalm 34:15–22I pondered today’s readings while digesting the latest news from Ukraine. I thought particularly of footage showing parents kissing...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 God’s promise of love, forgiveness and renewal...March 31, 2022 Exodus 32:7–14 | John 5:30–47  | Psalm 106:6–7,19–23After reading the Exodus 32:7–14 lesson, I wondered for a few days as to what it all meant and if it made sense. At first...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Loving God – Judging God March 30, 2022 Isaiah 49:8–15 | John 5:19–29 | Psalm 145:8–19I find the readings today to be in challenging juxtaposition. In Psalm 145, 8-19, we get a God who has our back. This God satisfies the needs of every...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Stand up, take your mat and walk.March 29, 2022 Ezekiel 47:1–9,12 | John 5:1–18 | Psalm 46:1–8In today’s Gospel from John, Jesus encounters a man at the pool of Beth-zatha in Jerusalem who had been lame for 38 years. After Jesus asks him if...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 I am about to create new heavens and a new earth. ... I am about to create Jerusalem as a joy, and its people as a delight. March 28, 2022 Isaiah 65:17–25 | John 4:43–54 | Psalm 30:1–6,11–13My initial response to today’s reading from Isaiah...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Hope restored.March 27, 2022 Joshua 5:9-12 | 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 | Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32 | Psalm 32Psalm 32Beati quorum (Blessed are those)1 Happy are they whose transgressions are forgiven, and whose sin is put away!2 Happy are they to whom...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to GodMarch 26, 2022 Hosea 6:1–6 | Luke 18:9–14 | Psalm 51:15–20I give you all of me, nothing do I hold back, of all my love is now yours.All of me now I surrender to your complete care.From what I no...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Discover what we can do to help move God’s worldMarch 25, 2022 Isaiah 7:10-14 | Psalm 45 | or Psalm 40:5-10 | or Canticle 15 (or 3) | Hebrews 10:4-10 | Luke 1:26-38My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,my spirit rejoices in God my...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 God’s grace and forgiveness is there for the asking. March 24, 2022 This command I gave them, “Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people; and walk only in the way that I command you, so that it may be well with you. ...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Guidebook For The AgesMarch 23, 2022 Deuteronomy 4:1–2,5–9 | Matthew 5:17–19 | Psalm 78:1–6Recently I experienced many frustrations trying to locate sources that would help me solve some of my household problems in determining if the things...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 We should remember to forgive as we are wanting to be forgiven. March 22, 2022 Song of the Three Young Men 2–4,11–20a | Matthew 18:21–35 | Psalm 25:3–10Peter came and said to Jesus, "Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 The Thirsty Soul:  Psalm 42: 1-7March 21, 2022 2 Kings 5:1–15b | Luke 4:23–30 | Psalm 42:1–7As the deer longs for the water-brooks, so longs my soul for you, O God.’It is a beautiful, yet compelling image, this first verse of Psalm 42. One...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Find him in our suffering and accept the love and grace he provides. March 20, 2022 Exodus 3:1-15 | 1 Corinthians 10:1-13 | Luke 13:1-9 | Psalm 63:1-8People who have suffered loss or trauma often refer to the event as having tested their...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 To raise men of faith that will leave this world a better place. March 19, 2022 2 Samuel 7:4,8-16  | Romans 4:13-18 | Luke 2:41-52 | Psalm 89:1-29 or 89:1-4, 26-29As a mother, I often think about the incredible responsibility that Mary must...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 What Did Jesus Say?March 18, 2022 Genesis 37:3–4,12–28 | Matthew 21:33–43 | Psalm 105:16–22Thank You, God, for the gift of Lent, a time for deep introspection. In these days of plague, insurrection, murder, and war, not to mention serious...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Cornerstone March 18, 2022 Genesis 37:3–4,12–28  |  Matthew 21:33–43  |  Psalm 105:16–22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Our roots spread to all we touch and we bear fruit and prosper. March 17, 2022 Jeremiah 17:5–10 | Luke 16:19–31 | Psalm 1Jeremiah 17:5–10Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,whose trust is the Lord.They shall be like a tree planted by...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Work with God as our partnerMarch 16, 2022 Jeremiah 18:1–11,18–20 | Matthew 20:17–28 | Psalm 31:9–16Lent is a time to reflect on what God needs of us. Loving God above all things is the basis of our faith. We should love and take care of our...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 “How can I keep from singing?” March 13, 2022 Genesis 15:1-12,17-18 | Philippians 3:17-4:1 | Luke 13:31-35 | Psalm 27 Of all the readings assigned for this 2nd Sunday of Lent, the one & only thing that kept drawing me back was this...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 “…pray for those who persecute you…” March 12, 2022 Deuteronomy 26:16–19 | Matthew 5:43–48 | Psalm 119:1–8Scripture Matthew 5:43-48   “…pray for those who persecute you…”How easy it is to pray for ourselves or for those who don’t persecute...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 We should not be afraid of our shortcomings March 11, 2022 Ezekiel 18:21–28 | Matthew 5:20–26 | Psalm 130I am guilty of calling people fools. And worse. The readings set for today call to mind that “sin” (what one priest told me is “missing...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Ask, search, and knock. March 10, 2022 Esther (Apocrypha) 14:1–6,12–14 | Matthew 7:7–12 | Psalm 138I imagine that we have all faced crises in our lives and floundered, flailed about, or sunk into some state of despair as we dealt with the...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Running away March 9, 2022 Jonah 3:1–10 | Luke 11:29–32 | Psalm 51:11–18Scripture readings assigned for today focus on the story of Jonah. If you haven’t heard the story for a while, let me remind you…when the word of the Lord first came to...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Can you teach an old dog new tricks? March 7, 2022 Leviticus 19:1–2,11–18  |  Matthew 25:31–46  |  Psalm 19:7–14A not-so-easy read…Psalm 19:7–14Having read and re-read this psalm, I profess an utter inability to grasp its overall message at...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 What did Jesus do for forty days? March 6, 2022 Deuteronomy 26:1-11 | Romans 10:8b-13 | Luke 4:1-13 | Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16What did Jesus do during his forty days in the wilderness? He had just been baptized and had been declared God’s son and...

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 Spread the love of Jesus to others March 5, 2022 Isaiah 58:9b–14 | Luke 5:27–32 | Psalm 86:1–11Luke 5:27-32In this gospel reading, we learn of a tax collector for the Roman Empire named Levi. Jesus walks by Levi and tells him to follow Him....

Home > Lenten Blog 2022 I’ll take one giant slice of Humble Pie, please. March 2, 2022 Joel 2:1-2,12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12 | 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 | Matthew 6:1-6,16-21 | Psalm 103 or 103:8-14As I read the Ash Wednesday lectionary for 2022, I couldn’t help but to...