March 6, 2019
Lent begins today. After forty weekdays and six Sundays, comes Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019.
I’d like to send you short reflections on each of those days. The meditations are based on scripture texts from the daily lectionary used in Roman Catholic and other churches throughout the world. You can read all the scriptures of the day by clicking on the linked date at the top of each reflection.
Even though we’re not in church, reading these scriptures and meditations is a way to participate in community worship and prayer with many others who are also reading the same texts.
These devotions are also available and archived each day at the following web addresses:
http://www.davesandel.net/category/lent-easter-devotions-2019/
http://www.christiancounselingservice.com/archive.php?year=2019
Devotions of some prior years and a compilation of Triduum devotions from 1999-2018 are also available as either books or Kindle books on Amazon’s website.
God bless you,
Dave
Hidden wholeness
When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing. When you pray, go to your inner room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, so that you may not appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden.
– From Matthew 6
Today we wear our ashes proudly. As least I do. The joy I feel when the pastor makes a char-black ashy cross on my forehead comes but once a year. These religious ashes are made from last year’s palm leaves, the ones held and swung by our children as Jesus enters Jerusalem. Now on our foreheads this simple and profound circle of life comes all the way around.
But Jesus’ words call me into quiet, not proclamation. After this first day of public ashes come weeks of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. All this is best done in silence.
There might be a downside to this quieting time. When I spend time alone in my prayer closet, I tend to become quiet elsewhere too. I don’t communicate as well with others when I settle into a long springtime of prayer and fasting. I love the intimacy I sometimes feel with God. But the last thing I want to do is become less intimate with God’s other kids, especially Margaret. We both love God, and we love each other. And I need to say so!
At a daylong Lenten retreat I attended yesterday, the facilitators prayed for us: “May you enter fully into your own un-ease.” I sat (quietly) in the convent chapel and received their words. They asked us to accept a gift from God for each of the five weeks of Lent.
These gifts surprised me: temptation, darkness, suffering, reconciliation, and “moving on.” After each talk the presenters prayed over us. And always, in the midst of the requests, “May you enter fully into your own un-ease.”
I know being with God brings joy to my life with others. Of course it does. “Look to him that you may be radiant with joy, and your faces may not blush with shame” (Psalm 34). I can share that joy, and share my smile. I can look straighter than ever into the eyes of my brothers and sisters. God’s acceptance of me flows into my acceptance of them.
I can notice whatever “un-ease” I feel about that transitioning. I don’t need to ignore it or make it into a mountain. Instead I can enter it, talk through it, be quiet while God does his work with it.
I can give thanks. And I can talk with those I love.
Let me taste and see your goodness, Lord. When I seek you, when you deliver me from all my fears, let your wholeness precede my words and infuse my gaze toward others. You love us all. What a freeing thing that is for me. I can love like you!
http://www.davesandel.net/category/lent-easter-devotions-2019/
http://www.christiancounselingservice.com/archived_devotions.php?article_id=1751
All the Sunday and daily Roman Catholic lectionary readings for Lent and Easter 2019
Readings for the Sundays of Lent, Easter, and Pentecost (Year C)
3/10/19 1st Sunday of Lent Dt 26:4-10, Ps 91:1-15, Rom 10:8-13, Lk 4:1-13
3/17/19 2nd Sunday of Lent Gen 15:5-18, Ps 27, Phil 3:17-4:1, Luke 9:28-36
3/24/19 3rd Sunday of Lent Ex 3:1-15, Psalm 103:1-11, 1 Cor 10:1-12, Luke 13:1-9
3/31/19 4th Sunday of Lent Josh 5:9-12, Ps 34:2-7, 2 Cor 5:17-21, Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
4/7/19 5th Sunday of Lent Is 43:16-21, Ps 126:1-6, Phil 3:8-14, John 8:1-11
4/14/19 Palm Sunday Luke 19:28-40, Is 50:4-7, Ps 22:8-24, Phil 2:6-11, Luke 22:14-23:56
4/21/19 Easter Sunday Acts 10:34-43, Ps 118:1-23, Col 3:1-4, John 20:1-9
4/28/19 2nd Sunday of Easter Acts 5:12-16, Ps 118:2-22, Rev 1:9-19, John 20:19-31
5/5/2019 3rd Sunday of Easter Acts 5:27-41, Ps 30:2-13, Rev 5:11-14, John 21:1-19
5/12/19 4th Sunday of Easter Acts 13:14, 43-52, Ps 100:1-5, Rev 7:9-17, John 10:27-30
5/19/19 5th Sunday of Easter Acts 14:21-27, Ps 145:8-13, Rev 21:1-5, John 13:31-35
5/26/19 6th Sunday of Easter Acts 15:1-2, 22-29, Ps 67:2-8, Rev 21:10-23, John 14:23-29
6/2/19 7th Sunday of Easter Acts 7:55-60, Ps 97:1-9, Rev 22:12-20, John 17:20-26
6/9/19 Pentecost Sunday Acts 2:1-11, Ps 104:1-34, 1 Cor 12:3-13, Rom 8:8-17, John 20:19-23
Readings for the Weekdays (Cycle I)
Weekdays including Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday until the First Sunday of Lent
3/5/19 Mardi Gras Sirach 17:20-24, Mark 10:28-31
3/6/19 Ash Wednesday Joel 2:12-18, Ps 51:3-17, 2 Cor 5:20-6:2, Matt 6:1-18
3/7/19 Deut 30:15-20, Ps 1:1-6, Luke 9:22-25
3/8/19 Isa 58:1-9, Ps 51:3-19, Matt 9:14-15
3/9/19 Isa 58:9-14, Ps 86:1-6, Luke 5:27-32
First Week of Lent
3/11/19 Lev 19:1-18, Ps 19:8-15, Matt 25:31-46
3/12/19 Isa 55:10-11, Ps 34:4-19, Matt 6:7-15
3/13/19 Jonah 3:1-10, Ps 51:3-19, Luke 11:29-32
3/14/19 Esther C:12-25, Ps 138:1-8, Matt: 7:7-12
3/15/19 Ezekiel 18:21-28, Ps 130:1-8, Matt 5:20-26
3/16/19 Deut 26:16-19, Ps 119:1-8, Matt 5:43-48
Second Week of Lent
3/18/19 Daniel 9:4-10, Ps 78:8-13, Luke 6:36-38
3/19/19 Isa 1:10-20, Ps 50:8-23, Matt 23:1-12
3/20/19 Jer 18:18-20, Ps 31:5-16, Matt 20:17-28
3/21/19 Jer 17:5-10, Ps 1:1-6, Luke 16:19-31
3/22/19 Gen 37:3-28, Ps 105:16-21, Matt 21:33-46
3/23/19 Micah 7:14-20, Ps 103:1-12, Luke 15:1-32
Third Week of Lent
3/25/19 2 Kings 5:1-15, Ps 42:2-4, Luke 4:24-30
3/26/19 Daniel 3:25-43, Ps 25:4-9, Matt 18:21-35
3/27/19 Deut 4:1-9, Ps 147:12-20, Matt 5:17-19
3/28/19 Jer 7:23-28, Ps 95:1-9, Luke 11:14-23
3/29/19 Hosea 14:2-10, Ps 81:6-17, Mark 12:28-34
3/30/19 Hosea 6:1-6, Ps 51:3-21, Luke 18:9-14
Fourth Week of Lent
4/1/19 Isa 65:17-21, Ps 30:2-13, John 4:43-54
4/2/19 Ezekiel 47:1-12, Ps 46:2-9, John 5:1-16
4/3/19 Isa 49:8-15, Ps 145:8-18, John 5:17-30
4/4/19 Exodus 32:7-14, Ps 106:19-23, John 5:31-47
4/5/19 Wisdom 2:1-22, Ps 34:17-23, John 7:1-30
4/6/19 Jer 11:18-20, Ps 7:2-12, John 7:40-53
Fifth Week of Lent
4/8/19 Daniel 13:1-30, 33-62, Ps 23:1-6, John 8:1-11
4/9/19 Numbers 21:4-9, Ps 102:2-21, John 8:21-30
4/10/19 Daniel 3:14-20, 91-95, Daniel 3:52-56, John 8:31-42
4/11/19 Gen 17:3-9, Ps 105:4-9, John 8:51-59
4/12/19 Jer 20:10-13, Ps 18:2-7, John 10:31-42
4/13/19 Ezekiel 37:21-28, Jer 31:10-13, John 11:45-56
Holy Week and Triduum
4/15/19 Isa 42:1-7, Ps 27:1-14, John 12:1-11
4/16/19 Isa 49:1-6, Ps 71:1-17, John 13:21-38
4/17/19 Isa 50:4-9, Ps 69:8-34, Matt 26:14-25
4/18/19 Holy Thursday Exodus 12:1-14, Ps 116:12-18, 1 Cor 11:23-26, John 13:1-15
4/19/19 Good Friday Isa 52:13-53:12, Ps 31:2-25, Heb 4:14-16, 5:7-9, John 18:1-19:42
4/20/19 Saturday Easter Vigil Gen 1:1-2:2, Ps 104:1-35
Gen 22:1-18, Ps 16:5-11
Exodus 14:15-15:1, Exodus 15:1-18
Isa 54:5-14, Ps 30:2-13
Isa 55:1-11, Isa 12:2-6
Baruch 3:9-15, 32C4:4, Ps 19:8-11
Ezekiel 36:16-28, Isa 12:2-6, Ps 51:12-19
Romans 6:3-11, Ps 118:1-23
Mark 16:1-7
The Octave of Easter
4/22/19 Acts 2:14-32, Ps 16:1-5, Matt 28:8-15
4/23/19 Acts 2:36-41, Ps 33:4-22, John 20:11-8
4/24/19 Acts 3:1-10, Ps 105:1-9, Luke 24:13-35
4/25/19 Acts 3:11-26, Ps 8:2-9, Luke 24:35-48
4/26/19 Acts 4:1-12, Ps 118:1-27, John 21:1-14
4/27/19 Acts 4:13-21, Ps 118:1-21, Mark 16:9-15
