Celtic Daily Reading (March 2)

[Celtic Daily]

2 March

Feast Day: St. Chad of Lichfield, St. Slebhene of Iona, St. Cynibild,
St. Fergna the White, St. Joavan of Leon, St. Willeic

Theme: The Answer to the rat race

+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen

Declaration of faith

To whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life,
and we have believed and have come to know
that You are the Holy One of God.

Praise to You, Lord Jesus Christ,
King of endless glory.

Psalm 64:
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my
complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy, hide me from the
secret plots of the wicked, from the scheming of evildoers, who whet
their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, shooting
from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares
secretly, thinking, "Who can see us? Who can search out our crimes? We
have thought out a cunningly conceived plot." For the inward mind and
heart of a man are deep! But God will shoot his arrow at them; they will
be wounded suddenly. Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin;
all who see them will wag their heads. Then all men will fear; they will
tell what God has wrought, and ponder what he has done. Let the
righteous rejoice in the LORD, and take refuge in him! Let all the
upright in heart glory!
Old Testament: 1 Samuel 1-13
There was a certain man of Ramatha'im-zo'phim of the hill country of
E'phraim, whose name was Elka'nah the son of Jero'ham, son of Eli'hu,
son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an E'phraimite. He had two wives; the name of
the one was Hannah, and the name of the other Penin'nah. And Penin'nah
had children, but Hannah had no children. Now this man used to go up
year by year from his city to worship and to sacrifice to the LORD of
hosts at Shiloh, where the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phin'ehas, were
priests of the LORD. On the day when Elka'nah sacrificed, he would give
portions to Penin'nah his wife and to all her sons and daughters; and,
although he loved Hannah, he would give Hannah only one portion, because
the LORD had closed her womb. And her rival used to provoke her sorely,
to irritate her, because the LORD had closed her womb. So it went on
year by year; as often as she went up to the house of the LORD, she used
to provoke her. Therefore Hannah wept and would not eat. And Elka'nah,
her husband, said to her, "Hannah, why do you weep? And why do you not
eat? And why is your heart sad? Am I not more to you than ten sons?"
After they had eaten and drunk in Shiloh, Hannah rose. Now Eli the
priest was sitting on the seat beside the doorpost of the temple of the
LORD. She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD, and wept
bitterly. And she vowed a vow and said, "O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt
indeed look on the affliction of thy maidservant, and remember me, and
not forget thy maidservant, but wilt give to thy maidservant a son, then
I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and no razor shall
touch his head." As she continued praying before the LORD, Eli observed
her mouth. Hannah was speaking in her heart; only her lips moved, and
her voice was not heard; therefore Eli took her to be a drunken woman.
Meditation:

A Hermits Song

My heart stirs quietly now to think
of a small hut that no one visits
in which I will travel to death in silence.
I will have no ease nor long lying, but short sleep, out on the edge of
life,
and early waking for penance and long prayer.

Hardly a mile from this pleasant clearing
is a bright spring to drink from and use
for moistening measured pieces of bread.
For all my renouncing and sparse diet
and regular tasks of reading and penance
I foresee only delight in my days there.
Version - James Simmons. New Testament: Luke 14:7-14

Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he marked how they
chose the places of honor, saying to them, "When you are invited by any
one to a marriage feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest a
more eminent man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both
will come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you will
begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go
and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to
you, 'Friend, go up higher'; then you will be honored in the presence of
all who sit at table with you. For every one who exalts himself will be
humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." He said also to
the man who had invited him, "When you give a dinner or a banquet, do
not invite your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or rich
neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. But
when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind,
and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. You will be
repaid at the resurrection of the just."
Closing Prayer:

Slow me down, Lord
ease the pounding of my heart
by the quieting of my mind
steady my hurried pace
with a vision of the eternal reach of time
Give me, amid the confusion of my day
the calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break
the tension of my nerves and muscles
with the music of the singing streams that live in my memory.
Help me to know the magic, restoring power of sleep
Teach me the art
of taking minute vacations
of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pat a
dog, to read a few lines from a good book.
Slow me down, Lord,
and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life's enduring
values, that I may grow towards the stars
of my greatest destiny.
- with thanks to the Cenacle Sisters: Meadowbank, Auckland, New Zealand.





Sent out at approximately midnight G.M.T.

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