The first reading for mass today is an ancient text but at the same time so contemporary in its message…
During
the Babylonian captivity, the exiles prayed:
« Justice is with the Lord, our God;
and we today are flushed with shame,
we people of Judah and citizens of Jerusalem,
that we, with our kings and rulers
and priests and prophets, and with our ancestors,
have sinned in the Lord’s sight and disobeyed him…« For we did not
heed the voice of the Lord, our God,
in all the words of the prophets whom he sent us,
but each one of us went off
after the devices of his own wicked heart,
served other gods,
and did evil in the sight of the Lord, our God. »
Baruch 1:15-18,
21-22
You reign over all the nations, Lord:
lift our eyes from our self-destructive paths
to see, as you do, that there is one world,
one human family, one life given to each of us,
deserving of reverence and respect
of care and compassion,
because that life is your gift to each of us
and to all of us, your beloved children…
exercise your rule over
our dreams and schemes;
our grudges and resentments;
come and rule our hearts
Let your rule over us be the measure
of our compassion,
our generosity,
our gentleness and mercy…
With divine power,
mend and make peaceful the sad divisions
in the global family,
in the nations of the world,
in our cities and towns,
our neighborhoods and parishes,
in our families
and where we work and play…
Be our justice, Lord,
and let our work and efforts yield
a harvest of your peace…
Amen.
