Friday, March 19
Holy Day - St. Joseph
Have you ever cried out in the wilderness? Has your heart ever been so blighted and withered that you forgot to eat your food? In the course of your life, have you been broken?
“Hear my prayer, O Lord; let my cry for help come to you.”
Psalm 102 is the prayer of an afflicted man crying out to the Lord. He is desperate. He is broken. He sees that his days are vanishing. Yet, as he cries to the Lord for comfort, he also looks forward, to God’s steadfast presence for future generations.
As I write this, we are 10 days past the devastating earthquake in Haiti. The voices crying out in the wilderness are quieting; bodies yielding to injuries and days without food and water. Yet there continue to be a few miraculous rescues. There continues to be a thin strand of hope and faith that more people will be rescued, even though statistically, the time for hope is over. And we pray: for the souls of the departed; that more people will be found, for the rescuers and workers that are gathering to help in this desperate situation. Our thoughts turn to the survivors and their future. Our hope and faith turn to God’s steadfast presence for the living.
Sorrow and despair tempered by faith and hope, and by God’s compassionate presence in our lives.
Have you ever cried out in the wilderness? Has your heart ever been so blighted and withered that you forgot to eat your food? In the course of your life, have you been broken?
Joanne Polansky