Thursday after Ash Wednesday - March 6, 2025

 Deuteronomy 30:15-20   Luke 9:22-25


April 15th, 2019...we were driving home from visiting our grandchildren in Ohio when I received a call from a friend asking if we were watching the news on TV. She told me that Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was on fire. We immediately turned on the radio and listened in horror as reporters described the scene. Returning home, we turned on the TV and watched in dismay as the roof caved in, and concern grew for the walls and their ability to support the building. It seemed hopeless that this icon of Catholicism and symbol of France would remain standing.

Having been in Paris and visited the cathedral six months earlier, I was on the verge of tears. But, in spite of the dismal outlook, after the fire, President Macron announced that the cathedral would be rebuilt in time for the 2024 Olympics, just five years off. This would require a huge leap of faith and a Herculean effort to make it happen. 

December 8th, 2024...Our Lady of Paris rose from the ashes in glory and proved to the world that with hope and hard work, all is not lost. In today’s world, it is easy to lose sight of hope with all that is going on...politics and polarization, international conflicts and war, the changing climate and its drastic consequences on people around, as well as the distractions that occur in our daily lives. If one listens to the news for any length of time, it would be easy to become depressed and lose all sense of hope.

But in today’s psalm, God promises us, “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.” Let us take the time to listen to his word by finding time to be quiet and find hope to live by.

Q: When have I particularly needed to hope in the Lord?

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