SPEAKING TO THE SOUL

Lenten Meditations: Tuesday 20 March

March 20, 2012
FOURTH TUESDAY OF LENT – Cuthbert, Bishop of Lindisfarne,687
Tue
Mar 20
am: 97, 99, 100
pm: 94, 95
Gen 49:29-50:14
1 Cor 11:17-34
Mark 8:1-10
 
LITURGICAL THEME FOR THE DAY:Today we remember Cuthbert, who at the age of eight had a prophetic remark from a playmate turn his mind to sober and godly thoughts, and his upbringing as a shepherd gave him ample time for prayer. One night he saw in the sky a dazzling light and angels carrying a soul up to heaven, and resolved to dedicate his life to God. Some years later Cuthbert came to Melrose Abbey asking to be admitted as a monk. It was from here that he began his missionary work, which he continued from Lindisfarne when he became abbot there. Consecrated bishop in 685 he remained an indefatigable traveler and preacher, walking all over his diocese, and spending time as a hermit on Farne Island in between. After only a year however, he felt his end coming and resigned his office, dying on Farne in the company of a few of his monks.

MEDITATION OF THE DAY:The crowd that pressed in upon Jesus was hungry for something more than food. They hung on Jesus’ words because they were hungry for God and so Jesus repeats the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and the fish. He acted because He saw a huge crowd like “sheep without a shepherd”; now He takes pity on them because they have been with Him for three days and have nothing to eat. This yearning for food is part of our spiritual diet for Lent. We are called to be in touch with that deep desire and invite God in the depth of our being and transform us. To that point, one can argue that this miracle shows how Christ is mindful of those people who persevere in following Him. We should take note of these followers in the Gospel and seek to be like them, seek to be attentive and ready to do what He asks. A deeper Lenten journey is not the results we wish for our lives, but a trusting in Divine Providence.

PRAYER OF THE DAY: Almighty God, who called your servant Cuthbert from following the flock to follow your Son and to be a shepherd of your people: in your mercy, grant that we, following his example, may bring those who are lost home to your fold; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

 ANCIENT WISDOM/PRESENT GRACE: “If I could live in a tiny dwelling on a rock in the ocean, surrounded by the waves of the sea and cut off from the sight and sound of everything else, I would still not be free of the cares of this passing world, or from the fear that somehow the love of money might still come and snatch me away. – St. Cuthbert

Lenten Discipline– In the Spirit of St. Cuthbert, find a quiet space or green space near your home, at a park or at a reserve. Visit the area with people you are in community with. While you are there, spend thirty minutes in silence opening your mind and heart to God. Give 10¢ for every wild creature you see or go to http://www.lindisfarne.org.uk/general/ and take a virtual tour of the community that continues in the spirit of Sts. Aidan and Cuthbert.