at the beginning of every watch; Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord; Lift up your hands to him for the lives of your little ones Who faint from hunger at the corner of every street. Lamentations I saw the stark reality of poverty today on a visit to the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. There we saw children running along the road after our bus, children obviously malnourished, perhaps close to starvation. The part of today’s first reading truly resonated as the people in my group struggle with how to bear witness to what we saw. We all need to pour out our hearts like water and lift up our hands for the lives of the little ones. We need to attend to the responsorial psalm with its refrain: Lord, forget not the souls of your poor ones. And humbly, we must have faith in God. I have always loved the prayer right before Communion when we say: Lord, I am not worthy to receive you but only say the word and I shall be healed. That prayer shows our faith and God’s love for us. Even saying it brings me a moment of peace, a tangible feeling of God’s presence. I need the healing power of God to help me find a way to not forget the souls of the children I saw today. |