We hear how the Lord’s anger rises
up against the people of Israel for rejecting him in the middle of the Exodus,
how they make a molten calf as an idol to worship instead. The Lord wants to punish the people
and save Moses, but Moses intercedes on their before. I think of the saints as interceding
on our behalf in a similar manner, in offering their prayers, compassion, and
fidelity on our behalf to help us when we have strayed from the path. Many of us Catholics grow to see
some of the saints as our friends and our advocates, as those who are helping
us when we need that help the most.
Today we celebrate one such saint
who wrote these inspired words that were turned into a song in the Broadway
musical GODSPELL in the 1970s. “Our Lord Jesus - Most merciful
Redeemer, Friend and Brother, may we know you more clearly, love you more
dearly, and follow you more nearly, day by day.” St. Richard, the Bishop of Chichester, England, prayed those words to
Jesus way back in the 13th century. Today we celebrate the feast day of
St Richard of Chichester. Seeing, knowing, and loving God more
clearly: Isn't that the heart of our Lenten journey? And St Richard did not just preach
through his words. In his life as bishop, he advocated
for discipline among the clergy, he was generous in his help of the poor, and
he denounced corruption and abuses in the Church and in the government. May St Richard and the community of
saints help us and guide us on our Lenten journey of repentance and
renewal.
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