O my Jesus, this maculated heart is stained, irreparable by human hands; with Your body and blood, You make it clean. If I cannot be a perfect instrument of Your peace, make of me a suitable tool to be wielded in Your service.
11:39:12 PM  #  comment []

Psalms 51:12ff

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence, and take not thy holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of thy salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors thy ways, and sinners will return to thee.

Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of thy deliverance.

O Lord, open thou my lips, and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.

For thou hast no delight in sacrifice; were I to give a burnt offering, thou wouldst not be pleased.

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
11:25:16 PM  #  comment []

Ash Wednesday

I was going to sleep the rest of the night, but Edward and Armi woke me. Um.

St Matthias in Bala Cynwyd.

Too late for the morning mass, so I prayed the sorrowful mysteries with the women there, then went to work in the dreary rain. I did catch the noontide mass though. By that time, the rain had stopped, and it was warm enough for at least one young woman to jog along the Schuylkill River in cutoff jeans—focus!

Create in me a clean heart, o Lord.

Mass: readings, homily, ashes, offerings, Communion. A lot of people left after the ashes, and a lot of people came in after the ashes. One man asked if the ashes had been given out already, as if the answer had not been staring at him like a third eye from everyone around him. <--(I only thought this much later. How can one be tart in such a nice chuch? Though to be fair to him the Communion could have been the handing out of ashes.) I answered him (quite politely, thank you) that I had heard someone tell another latecomer that ashes would be given out after Mass as well. Just then a very pretty, fresh-faced Filipina (that is, but for the ashes) walked by, and I lost all my words. Focus?
11:11:35 PM  #  comment []