Take with you words,
and return to the LORD;
Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,
and receive what is good, that we may render
as offerings the bullocks from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have horses to mount;
We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”

Hosea 14: 3-10

Here are the complete readings for Friday, March 28, 2025

(“Pilgrimage to the Cedars in Lebanon” by Tivador Csontvary Kosztka)

During this Lenten season, we have a tremendous opportunity to meditate on human freedom and specifically our own liberation from what holds us back from accepting the grace that is offered to us. Think about the line in Hosea in which the prophet says, say no more ‘our god’ to the work of our hands. How are we enslaved to our work and the low hanging fruit of that labor-status, accolades and material possessions? Instead, where in our day can we make time to reflect with no expectations for self-gain and total openness to the unknown? Perhaps we can unlearn some of the bad habits that we have picked up in life in which we separate rather than free ourselves. Can we free ourselves? The paradox about freedom in the Christian tradition is that in order to experience it, we have to surrender ourselves fully to the wisdom of God, which at its core is a divine mystery.

You were created by the God of love
in God’s image and according to God’s likeness,
to be a unique expression of that love.
It is through you
that God desires to manifest Love
to the peoples of the world in these times,
and to offer them the freedom
of the children of God. – The Fundamental Principles of the Xaverian Brothers

Gracious God, we hunger to belong. Show us the path forward, and hold us up when we stumble. Help us recognize companions on the journey, and support them as they would do for us. Thank you for the daily graced reminders that we do not have to travel to find you, as you have always been with us. May we share the good news of how to surrender our burdens and find great treasures that we thought were hidden or out of reach.

Amen