March 12, 2010
Friday of the Third Week of Lent
By Melanie Rigney
I will heal their defection; I will love them freely; for my wrath is turned away from them. (Hosea 14:5)
“If only my people would hear me, and Israel walk in my ways, I would feed them with the best of wheat, and with honey from the rock I would fill them.” (Psalms 81:14, 17)
One of the scribes came to Jesus and asked him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “The first is this: Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is this: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:28-31)
Piety
O my God, I love you above all things, with my whole heart and soul, because you are all good and worthy of all my love. I love my neighbor as myself for the love of you. I forgive all who have injured me and I ask pardon of all whom I have injured. (An Act of Love, from the Baltimore Catechism)
Study
Where do you find the Lord?
If your journey’s taken a contemplative bent, it may be in prayer or adoration. Maybe it’s in saying the rosary or in meditation or in spontaneous one-on-one conversations with God.
If you’re in a place where action is your focus, you may find the Lord in the faces of His people—in your family or in those you help at food pantries, homeless shelters, schools, or other work. If you’re an extraordinary minister, maybe you see Him in the glow on the faces of the congregation as they approach you.
Where does the Lord find you?
Everywhere.
He’s there when we’re on our most loving, most Christlike behavior, when we listen instead of rushing to judgment, when we let someone go ahead of us in line, when we’re doing service or reading Scripture.
But He’s also there when we’re visibly impatient with a department store clerk or when we judge a child based on his or her parents or when we’re fearful of a medical procedure or when we get cranky.
And the crazy, wonderful, awesome thing is that He loves us freely all the time. He offers the best of the wheat and honey, even when we’re not ready to accept that nourishment.
And if we try to live by those two greatest commandments, even though that can be incredibly difficult, it gets easier and easier to believe in, accept, and share that love.
Action
Let the Lord heal one of your defections this week.
