Lenten Devotions in Hard Economic Times

ASH WEDNESDAY—FIRST DAY OF LENT 
                        FEBRUARY 17

 
Psalm 51: 1, 6, 10, 16b, 17 
 
When my heart ruptures with grief and loss,
When my spirit shrivels,
When my hopes are feeble and my faith forlorn,

Have mercy on me, O God,
In keeping with Your steadfast love.
 

You have shown me the path to Life,
Life that is full and unbounded,
Dizzy with delight,
Saturated with significance.
You have pointed out to me time and time again,
That generosity and compassion are my guides,
On that journey.
And now I come to You,
Broken of spirit and heart,
Ready to huddle and cower,
Before the howling unknown,
To disregard Your presence
In my past and in my future,
And in this turbulent time zone of NOW.
 
Yet You desire that I be true and reliable
     in my inward being;
Therefore sow in my secret heart
The wisdom to know my utter dependence on You.
 
Keep me focused, even in the gray fog of defeat,
On the steady beam of Your steadfast love,
On the me You have called and dreamed me to be,
On the blessed community through which
You are revealed.
 
Let me act with the generosity and compassion
You have lavished on creation,
Lest I blight my life and my companions
With bitter coldness and arid anxiety.
 
Create for me a new beginning,
And put an unshakeable spirit within me…
A supple spirit,
Open to God’s ways.
 
A heart that has broken,
And that has broken its hold on conceit,
Is a heart You will not spurn, O God.

 
 
 
 
 
verses cited from Redemption Songs-A 21st Century Descant on the Psalms
commentary in italic