Lenten Meditations: Friday 13 March

Mar 13, 2020 by Jill

SECOND FRIDAY IN LENT – St.  Gerald of Mayo, Bishop 731

LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY: St. Gerald Bishop of Mayo, was an English monk who came to Ireland after the Synod of Whitby and settled in Innisboffin, in 668. Gerald’s circumstances remind us of today’s church as dissensions arose, after a time, between the Irish and the English monks, and St. Colman the Abbot decided to found a separate monastery for the thirty English monks so that they may have safe practice of the faith given the difference between the Celtic and Saxon expressions of the faith. Thus, arose the Abbey of Mayo. St. Bede wrote that: “This monastery occupied by English monks contained an exemplary body who gathered there from England and live d after the manner of the church fathers. As Anglicanism continues to struggle with how to live out its orthodox expressions of common life, perhaps St. Gerald and followers can offer some insight from their example.

MEDITATION OF THE DAY:  We all need people who are sources of encouragement to us when the chips are down and the lesson from the Old Testament does just that for us on our Lenten journey. Given all that had happened to Joseph leading up to his time in Egypt, he could have very easily become bitter. He could have turned away from God. And sought revenge on his brothers ?” But instead he continues to model what it means to live a covenanted life as Jew and  trust in the promises of God. Perhaps this lifestyle will be a lesson to His brothers who are know in a position of needing Joseph. Who now have to be mindful of the hurts and pains of their father as they make their way back to Joseph? When we are in a position to turn the tables on another, how do we handle it?

PRAYER OF THE DAY: Almighty God, you called your servant Gerald  to be a faithful and wise steward of your mysteries for the people of  Mayo: Mercifully grant that, following his purity of life and zeal for the Gospel of Christ, we may with him receive our heavenly reward; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”.

ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE : “Give something, however small, to the one in need. For it is not small to the one who has nothing.  Neither is it small to God, if we have given what we could.”- St Gregory Naziansen, Capadocian Father

LENTEN DISCIPLINE – Look for opportunities to lend or give away things that could bless someone else or to go out of my way to help in random or not so random ways. While giving something up reminds us to be thankful for all that we have, taking a vow of generosity, creates an openness within us so that God can use us to bless others in diverse and incredible ways.

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