scripture

  • Abundant

    Abundant

    Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert. Isaiah 35:6 I read this passage from Isaiah in one of my devotionals last night. I’d heard it proclaimed before, of course, probably we all have, but last night the good…

  • Ordinary

    Ordinary

    In my church tomorrow we’ll celebrate the twenty-third Sunday in Ordinary Time. Ordinary Time refers to the weeks in the liturgical calendar that are not set apart, no special feasts or seasons such as Advent, Lent, or Easter, no distinct sacrifices or practices. It’s regular, ordinary, normal. Tomorrow, the particular set of readings that is…

  • Deep

    Deep

    I’ve spent a lot of time these last few years in the deep water, spiritually speaking. This is a place where any illusion of control melts away and a person finds herself riding waves, bobbing, desperately scanning for boats, floating, treading water, and sometimes sinking. I’m not a strong swimmer, either in actual water or…

  • Water

    Water

    It was way too hot to run, so I set out on a long walk. Several podcasts loaded in my phone, I looked forward to the time in my own head. And I’m not sure when I’ll learn the truth of it, but as today showed me, we never walk alone. I rounded the two-mile…

  • Anchor

    Anchor

    It took almost more energy than I had to pick up my rosary beads. My relationship with intercessory prayer has been complicated lately, and I’m not really sure what I believe about it, but on the eve of a friend’s surgery, I moved through the beads and dedicated the time to my friend, his family,…

  • John

    John

    Today at mass, we heard the story of the birth of John the Baptist, and it’s a story we’ve heard many times before. John’s parents, Elizabeth and Zechariah, are told they will be parents in their old age, and while Elizabeth believes, Zechariah laughs. Immediately, Zechariah loses his voice, and he remains without speech for…

  • Puzzle

    Every night before I climb into bed, I try to read from my ‘One Year Bible’. For every day, there is an old testament reading, a new testament reading, a psalm, and a proverb, and it’s a manageable little bit to read, no matter how tired I am. I want the last words of the…

  • Burn

    Burn

    Last week, I burned my hands badly. Like, large-mug-filled-with-boiling-water-slips-out-of-your-hands badly. When it happened, I rushed to the sink to let the cold water flow while I prayed for limited damage. When it was time to sleep, I wrapped a wet towel around my hand and waited for morning. In the light of day, the damage…

  • When

    When

    Someone posed this question at my daughter’s post-high school graduation dinner: If given the choice, would you rather know HOW you were going to die or WHEN you were going to die? Now, before anyone piles on about the appropriateness of the timing of this particularly morbid question at that particularly hopeful event, you should…

  • Meribah

    Meribah

    In psalm 81, I read about how God rescues. He says, “You called in trouble, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder: I proved you at the waters of Meribah.” And since I was in the market for rescue, it made me wonder, just what happened at Meribah anyway?…