Monday March 7, 2022, Perpetua and Felicity
A line from Psalm 19, today’s psalm, struck me: “The command of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eye.” Both the first reading from Leviticus and the excerpt from Matthew’s Gospel are commandments to live by. Moses gives us a series of social teachings which are reinforced by Jesus who warns about how we will be judged by our compassion. The psalm verse caused me to wonder if by striving to live a life of love and compassion, as these commandments require, maybe our eyes are opened to see those around us in need of our compassion. We cannot act if we don’t recognize a need. Jesse Manibusan’s song “Open my Eyes” is a lovely prayerful longing to see, hear, and love as God does. Take a moment to listen to this song. As a member of my parish, I have been asked by our liturgy committee to fast a bit extra this Lent and set aside small daily alms for those in need. My prayer for myself is to “see like never before”—to discern people and causes I’ve been blind to in the past. Open my eyes—good prayer! Thanks, Jesse, for a lovely song!