Tag Archives: Lent

Bread

Posted on February 24, 2023 by Rosalind C Hughes

A little Lenten story I made my own bread when the children were small, with the aid of a machine. They ate it ravenously, sometimes playing Eucharist: “This is my toast, given for you.” My eldest bequeathed me a recipe … Continue reading →

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Ash Wednesday

Posted on February 22, 2023 by Rosalind C Hughes

Lent is a time, if nowhen else is, not to perform piety, but to practice humility; not to perform beneficence, but to practice generosity; not to perform mourning but to practice grief, for all that is done that should have been left undone; for all that should have been done that has been left undone; with tears and trembling, and the sure and certain knowledge that God, who is compassion and mercy, sees us. Continue reading →

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The Friday Fast: Do not rush to Easter

Posted on April 8, 2022 by Rosalind C Hughes

Do not rush to Easter You may stumble over someone slowlycarrying their cross, might miss the quiet wordsof sacrifice: my body for you, my blood.Do not sleepwalk past the garden, where olive grovesgroan and dream of peace. Do not rush, … Continue reading →

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Here is love

Posted on April 3, 2022 by Rosalind C Hughes

Here is love that doesn’t bury grief, but anoints it, attends to it. Here is love that doesn’t count the cost, but pours itself out so that it is felt, sensed, perceived far beyond the feet that receive it: “the house was filled with the fragrance of it.” Here is love that inspires others to love. Continue reading →

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The Friday Fast: Sabbath

Posted on April 1, 2022 by Rosalind C Hughes

Sabbath Don’t kill time.Sit with it a little;wait for it to see you watching, slow its stride.Let it tell its story;it has been too longsince you had timeto listen. “Once,” says time,“I was at the beginningof every tale; wordswere built upon … Continue reading →

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Holy ground

Posted on March 20, 2022 by Rosalind C Hughes

God said, “This is holy ground.” In the middle of the wilderness, to the side of the path, from the heart of a desert shrub, God spoke, and God said, “This, too, is holy ground.” Because there is no place on earth that God has abandoned. Continue reading →

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The Friday Fast: But not consumed

Posted on March 18, 2022 by Rosalind C Hughes

Spare a prayer for the shrub living on cloudbursts and sand; the will of iron would not withstand the attentions of this living fire that melts the ground to glass and on it stands mirrored in its own image kindling … Continue reading →

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The Friday Fast: spring snow

Posted on March 11, 2022 by Rosalind C Hughes

Like snow that falls after the daffodils have shown their colours, Friday afternoon slips in at the end of a long, slow week to whisper, “One more fast yet before the Sabbath.”

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“God shall give the angels charge over thee”

Posted on March 6, 2022 by Rosalind C Hughes

What if when we do these things, taking up spiritual arms against the onslaught of sin, the temptations of selfishness, fasting and praying and strengthening our spirits and training up our hearts to look to God in faith, and in trust; what if it is when we do these things that St Michael and her angels surround us and support us and sustain us, as the angels attended to Jesus in the wilderness after he resisted the wiles of the devil, according to Matthew (Matthew 4:11) Continue reading →

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The Friday Fast: God remembers that we are dust

Posted on March 4, 2022 by Rosalind C Hughes

An occasional series for Lent 2022 This poem is also found at the Episcopal Cafe

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