Thursday in the Fifth Week of Lent
Feast of the Annunciation
But I still my soul and make it quiet,
like a child upon its mother’s breast;
my soul is quieted within me.
Psalm 131:3
At the end of the day, I avert my eyes from the computer screen and just listen. I know the people I am praying with are present, virtually gathered as we have become accustomed to, and I realize I don’t need to see them to feel a part of this evening we share.
The words wash over me--familiar scripture, the poetry of the psalm, the gentle call and response of litany. I am a child again, being read to, comforted by ritual and closeness and sacred story.
And after we have all logged off, I remain in my chair, the arm of the holy One draped across my shoulders, holding me close, and the sweet voice of the Beloved promising to be with me all night long.
