A Stellar Birthday!

I absolutely enjoyed my birthday yesterday -- one of the nicest celebrations I've had in recent years. I woke to Happy Birthday hugs from Keith and the kids, and a breakfast including cherry scones. And a sunny day -- a real rarity for an early March birthday -- in fact, my brother (who was born on my third birthday) and I have always joked that it almost inevitably rains on our birthday. But today was decidedly the exception. Before I left, I read a variety of birthday wishes via e-cards and e-mail from my friends Judith, Noko, and Laura.

In Sunday School, my precious friend Kitty had baked her coffee cake -- lighter than air and pure buttery perfection! The class serenaded me with the traditional birthday song, but with half the choir in our class, it was sung beautifully. The only sad part was theat my dear friend Diana was ill with a stomach bug and couldn't be there to celebrate. Different church members greeted me with birthday wishes and hugs throughout the morning. And Kitty's daughter Emily (see Blogs of Interest in sidebar: Emily's Hollywood Life) wrote me a limerick in honor of the occasion:

For Susanne, on her birthday

There once lived a lady named Susanne
Who was her children's biggest fan.
So she cooked a great feast
Of yams and roast beef,
But alas, it all stuck to the pan.

Emily Belsey March 2, 2008.
(I was instructed to keep it so that when Emily becomes famous, I'll have an original poem to show off. And I am sliding it into my special drawer of keepsakes....)

After church, Kitty took me to lunch at Claim Jumper, a place I had only been to once many years ago. Our lunch was delicious, but the conversation was even better. I especially enjoyed getting caught up on Kitty's grad school experiences; she started a low-residency MFA (Master of Fine Arts) program in writing (poetry) at Pacific University in Oregon, and I hadn't had the opportunity to hear about the program and her residency in mid-January until now. She's also working with an internationally-renowned poet at SDSU, and he is helping her to self-edit her poetry in simple yet profound ways, some of which I plan to use with my own poems. We also discussed some theological issues in some depth and really had a wonderful time. I feel as though I could talk to Kitty for hours and hours -- we enjoy so many similar studies and pursuits.

After leaving Kitty's house after picking up my car, I drove to Rancho Bernardo, to San Rafael Parish Catholic Church to meet Carmen for a performance of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Vespers (All Night Vigil) performed by the La Jolla Symphony Chorus. The programs contained the words in parallel text so we could follow the Russian being sung with the English line. It was SO lovely, and I recognized the texts of many of the movements from the Anglican liturgy which is very similar to the Catholic, including The Venite (which the kids just started memorizing this week in our home school), The Phos Hilaron (which Rollo taught us at Lake Murray years ago), The Magnificat, many passages from the Psalms, and The Gloria. I love a capella music, and this was some of the best I've ever heard -- I love the influence of Gregorian chants on Rachmaninoff, even though he was not particularly religious (as the program stated). After the hour-long concert concluded, Carmen and I enjoyed a rather long chat outside the church, and she introduced me to Father Dennis, her priest. It was a lovely, lovely concert, and having a chance to chat with Carmen made it all the more memorable - what a treat!

I drove home then from Rancho Bernardo, listening to Harry Potter tapes and also calling to wish my brother a Happy Birthday as well; Mom and Dad had invited us yesterday to a barbecue at their house to celebrate our birthdays, but I was already booked solid. But I did call Tom at Mom and Dad's place and had a short chat with him. And at home -- wow! E had strung balloons and crepe paper streamers from the school table chandelier, and the house smelled wonderful! Keith had spent the entire afternoon and evening in the kitchen. For dinner, he made his wonderful spinach-and-mushroom-stuffed chicken breasts (stuffed also with fresh ricotta, freshly-grated parmesan, and finely-chopped ham) with a white wine reduction. Aaaaah, killer good. And then for dessert -- homemade Boston Cream Pie (above). And he made lemon meringue cookies for the kids with the extra whites. I had to have red wine with the chicken since all the white wine we had went into the sauce for the chicken. Actually, the chicken was savory enough to go well with the light pinot noir. Delicious, delicious!

And then the gifts I received: from Diana (who sent a gift with her husband that morning) -- a heart-shaped candle and holder; from Carmen -- the concert tickets plus White Tea and Ginger body lotion and spray from Bath and Body Works; from Kitty -- padded hangers of a lovely autumn-colored paisley pattern for my closet, an illustrated book of ancient poetry, and a lovely blue-enameled cross for near my front door with a hook below it for hanging keys, etc.; from the kids -- the new Father Tim novel by Jan Karon; and from Keith, a beautiful fountain pen. Using the dip pens and fountain pen helps my hands tremendously in writing because I don't have to push down while moving the nibs across paper. I also received cards from Noko and Vera, and Vera gave me a subscription to Victoria magazine.

E and I cuddled on the sofa with Dash and watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix for the rest of the evening. I had a lovely birthday, and the only way it could have been better was if it were longer than 24 hours....

Another Busy Week....

This week just flew by. I've been up late every night working on one project or another, and it's been a whirlwind of a week. Besides homeschooling the four kids, I managed to write two grammar tutorials, one on adjectives and one on conjunctions, prepositions, and interjections. I read chapters 13-19 of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters for the Wednesday night Lenten study with Alpine Anglican. I graded twenty five-paragraph essays for my writing classes that I taught today and also prepared the lessons taught, one class working with poetry and the other on timed essay exams. I tutored one student, and prepared materials for tutoring my other student next week. I also edited an article I wrote for our town's monthly newspaper from a blog entry I wrote here: the review of They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky. I also helped to finalize certain pages in our art council's Board of Director's Handbook and helped to edit and proofread our new flyer for our upcoming art contest for grades K-6. I proofread the church bulletin as well.

As I said earlier, all of this is on top of homeschooling, which often involves working with one or more children from 9 AM to at least 5 PM, perhaps longer. E has been needing my help a little more often with her world literature (she's reading The Song of Roland right now, after just finishing Julius Caesar) and The Aeneid), and I work with her after the boys are done with their work. Quite often we're finishing up as Keith makes dinner.

I've also been constant with my Lenten Rule. I occasionally fall a day or two behind the Bible Book Club readings, but I always catch up. There's a lot of devotions to follow, but I'm really getting a lot out of them. Being in the Word so much is helping to keep me sane this week.

At least this weekend is fairly easy. Tomorrow (Friday) I have the Friday Chapel Service with Father Acker of Alpine Anglican, then a stop by my doctor's office to pick up a prescription, then off to my chiropractor. B and I usually head over to Starbuck's to do his schooling together as he doesn't get as much time with me as the other kids during the week. Then we head back to Keith's office after a quick stop at Trader Joe's where we meet with E and T's wonderful math tutor Johanna, whom I've known since college. We eat lunch at the office, and then run an errand or two before heading back up the mountain. However, I may stay in town for the rest of the day as I have a wedding to attend in the evening (yes, another friend getting married on February 29!), so I may just head back to Starbuck's with my journal and some work to do on my book before the wedding. I'll probably get home around 11 PM.

On Saturday I have nothing planned except laundry and a trip to the pet store in Alpine where Dashwood is signed up for a photo session. We get a free 8X10 of him, so that should be fun. And the rest of the day I'm planning on reading and writing and relaxing.

Sunday is my birthday, and we're going to church at Lake Murray in the morning, and Kitty and Diana are taking me out to lunch after church. I'm meeting Carmen at her church in Rancho Bernardo around 3 PM for a vespers concert -- such a treat! Then I'll drive home for one of Keith's wonderful birthday dinners. It should be a fun day.

So that's what my week has been and will be like. At least next week should be much calmer. Okay, maybe just a little bit calmer. Just kidding.....

Serving Our Country

Keith's sister Karen sent us this recent photo of her son, our nephew Steven, who is serving in Baghdad. Up until his assignment in Iraq, Steven was stationed on the island of Oahu in Hawaii, and he requested a transfer to Afghanistan or Iraq. Steven is a delightful young man, so intelligent and eager to serve. He is really into the study of foreign relations, and enjoys learning different languages and cultures. He studied for a while at San Diego State, then followed his brother's footsteps into the military.

Steven is our third family member to serve in Iraq since the war began; my niece's husband and my elder nephew have both served; the former returned for a second tour and then back twice more as a private contractor.

With our family's involvement in the war, I'm afraid that I have very little patience with war protestors or people getting down on the war who have never had family members involved. We also have several young people from our church who have been and are presently serving in Iraq as well. The American press seems to only be concerned with the body count and not with the excellent work our young men and women are doing for the people of Iraq. The Iraqi people are thankful for the presence of Americans, and leaving these good people in the midst of a nasty civil war by pulling out suddenly as Obama apparently suggests would be a horrible thing to do to the Iraqi people. They've had many years under a cruel dictator who didn't think twice before killing thousands, even millions of innocent people within his borders, and I think we ought to help mitigate their suffering in any way possible, including helping their government stabilize so that the Iraqi people can rule themselves in freedom and strength. And my family and many other families send their young people to do just that. The American people need to let them do their jobs as they willingly go into danger in order to serve our country.

And now I will step off my soapbox and put it back into its corner....

Oscar Turns 80

The 80th Academy Awards was such a treat for us, especially as we've been on family trips for the last five years and missed all but snippets of the telecast. What fun it was to watch the red carpet interviews (notice that I didn't mention listening to the interviews as the most inane questions possible were asked of the Oscar nominees and presenters). I loved the plethora of red gowns, especially those worn by Heidi Klum, Katherine Heigl and Anne Hathaway. Judging the merits (or demerits) and relative taste of each gown and tux -- not to mention hair, accessories, and jewelry -- is my favorite part of the magic of the Oscars. Fashion, baby! It's all about fashion!

But I did enjoy the show itself, Jon Stewart included. He was far less annoying than the majority of past hosts, although Billy Crystal riding in on the horse and then "setting" its alarm remotely was definitely the best entrance by a host in my memory. And besides the presentation of awards, a few moments stood out to shine. John Travolta waltzing to the podium and Helen Mirren "knighting" Daniel Day Lewis were hilarious, and along with the wonderful retrospectives on past Academy Award shows, they made this 80th anniversary quite memorable.

Then the reception of the awards was also noteworthy. The Coen brothers definitely "scooped," winning for Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture. I loved seeing Tilda Swindon win, and her acceptance speech rocked -- although her gown rather scared me. (She's a rather awkward woman, isn't she?) We know her better as the White Witch in Narnia. I'm thrilled that Ratatouille won for Animated Picture, and I also couldn't be more thrilled for Diablo Cody(what a name!) -- a woman like that can make even writers seem cool. Anyway, here's the complete list of Oscar winners, thanks to MSNBC:

Best picture “No Country for Old Men”
Best actress Marion Cotillard, “La Vie en Rose”
Best actor Daniel Day-Lewis, “There Will Be Blood”
Best supporting actress Tilda Swinton, “Michael Clayton”
Best supporting actor Javier Bardem, “No Country for Old Men”
Best director Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”
Best foreign film “The Counterfeiters,” Austria
Adapted screenplay Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, “No Country for Old Men”
Original screenplay Diablo Cody, “Juno”
Animated feature film “Ratatouille”
Art direction “Sweeney Todd the Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Cinematography “There Will Be Blood”
Sound mixing “The Bourne Ultimatum”
Sound editing “The Bourne Ultimatum”
Original score “Atonement,” Dario Marianelli
Original song “Falling Slowly” from “Once”
Costume “Elizabeth: The Golden Age”
Documentary feature “Taxi to the Dark Side”
Documentary short “Freeheld”
Film editing “The Bourne Ultimatum”
Makeup “La Vie en Rose”
Animated short film “Peter & the Wolf”
Live action short film “Le Mozart des Pickpockets"
Visual effects “The Golden Compass

Overall, the 80th Academy Awards was a lovely tribute to the art of film making, one well-deserved as movies do give us the power to be someplace else without leaving our seats. We love the movies, and perhaps Robert Boyle, who won the Honorary Oscar, who has worked in production design in the industry for seven decades and with great like "Hitch" (Alfred Hitchcock, of course) and many others, said it best:

"Since I’ve been around here for almost a century, I’ve noted a lot of conflicts, but there was one bright image in this whole life of ours, and that was the arts, and particularly the art of the moviemakers, of the moving image that we all love.”

Amen! I loved his speech, long though it was, and his passion for the art of film making.

Third Week of Lent

As I have expressed before in this blog, Lent is one of my favorite seasons. (Above is my Lenten Rule that I have pinned on the wall right in front of my desk.) Thus far, I am learning a great deal through both my Lenten study of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters and also through all of the Scripture I am reading with the Bible Book Club (see link under Blogs of Interest) and daily Scripture readings from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer Lectionary. God is inspiring me to be more constant in prayer and more dedicated to His Word. And He is chipping away at my weak points: my self-sufficient spirit and my pride in intellect. And the fasting is going well also as I am learning to pray rather than eat what is unhealthy for me.

I pray that the changes God is effecting in me will not fade after Lent but will instead become ingrained habits that will bring Him glory. It certainly isn't ME at work here; all I am doing is cooperating with His Spirit at work in me. That's the sheer beauty of Lent and why I value it so deeply in my Christian pilgrimage.

The Collect (prayer to be prayed collectively not only by a congregation but by all Anglicans using the 1928 BCP across the world):

We beseech thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires of thy humble servants, and stretch forth the right hand of thy Majesty, to be our defence [sic] against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle reading is from the fifth chapter of St. Paul's Letter to the Church at Ephesus, and the Gospel reading is from the eleventh chapter of St. Luke's Gospel, starting at the fourteenth verse. Following are a few verses from these readings for our encouragement and inspiration:

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given ourselves for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.

For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

"... [B]lessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it."

I wish you all a blessed and holy Lent as we dedicate ourselves wholly and completely to the Lord in preparation for the Resurrection.

Whatever Happened to True Ecumenism?

John Armstrong has done it again. This man's writing so often expresses the deep beliefs of my heart far better than I can. His latest blog post (dated February 22)discusses "True Ecumenism," and he first defines the movement historically, and concludes with Scriptural support regarding the Church being unified from the prayer of Christ Himself in John 17.

Armstrong declares himself to be a "catholic" Christian -- a term I also use to describe myself as well. Here's a short excerpt from his blog:

...I refer to myself as a “catholic” Christian; i.e., a Christian who believes in the whole Church throughout the whole earth. Ecumenism recognizes this reality and seeks to express it in practical and godly ways.

Here's another excellent excerpt:

What we should be doing right now is praying and practicing John 17:20-24. We should be making every effort to promote unity among all Christians and thus learning how we can grow in love one for another. I think we have no choice in this matter if we are to remain faithful to Christ himself. This is the heart and soul of my ecumenism. If this is offensive to some then I will gladly bear the offense believing that what I pursue, albeit imperfectly and too timidly, is the unity of the Church in the faith once for all given to those who are in Christ Jesus.

Amen!! His blog entry is thought-provoking and truth-telling; I encourage all Christians to read it; you'll find the entire text here.

The Return of Victoria

Years and years ago, my wonderful former college roommate and godmother of my children, Vera, gave me a magazine subscription for my birthday: Victoria Magazine. Aaah, I can't tell you how amazing this little monthly gem was! Within its pages was everything I was interested in: literary articles, gardening (the English way!), home decor, antiques, gourmet food (with recipes!), travel to gracious places -- all in one magazine.

And the photographs! I could gaze at them by the hour and imagine myself walking on a deserted beach, hosting a garden party, entertaining in an English cottage, and serving gourmet meals (rather than the standard mac 'n' cheese). When I was a young mother, home with little ones and sometimes feeling stifled by potty-training and baby cereal, Victoria helped me to remember that life can be beautiful and gracious, serene and peaceful.

Victoria affirmed all that was beautiful in life, all that life had to offer. And with my love of things antique (my readers well know that I could happily live with soft candle and oil lamp light rather than the glare of electric and fluorescent bulbs and quill pens dipped into ink wells rather than sordid ball-points), I felt as if I simply melted into the photographs, living a life of beauty and graciousness.

Even though my ISFJ need for closure dictated that I must read every word of the magazine in order to set it aside for the new issue, I still found myself daydreaming about the travel, the letter writing, the glorious gardens that I vicarously lived through the words and photographs of Victoria. And I couldn't throw away a single issue but storedt each issue carefully in our attic.

Then, horrors! Victoria was gone. Out of business. The loss of my one and only magazine (besides Reader's Digest) was dreadful news that took me almost a year to fully believe. Vera and I, along with many devoted Victoria readers, mourned the loss of the magazine that was more than glossy pages and fine print; Victoria was a lifestyle, an escape to graciousness when the reality of life was just too much to take. And it was gone.

For years I plodded along without Victoria, missing it terribly. My magazine basket now held homeschooling catalogs rather than the beautifully-photographed covers of Victoria. I tried other magazines but to no avail -- nothing measured up to Victoria, and really, in order to find all the topics Victoria covered, I would have to purchase at least half-a-dozen periodicals, and who has the time and money to do that? Not me.

So you may well imagine my surprise and joy when a Victoria magazine arrived in the mail this past November! "'Oh frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'/ [S]he chortled in [her] joy" ("Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll). Victoria was back, even better than before, if such a thing were possible. Aaah! JOY!

But with finances as tight as they have been lately, a subscription was not in the budget. But today Vera e-mailed me, asking if I would like a subscription for my upcoming birthday -- JOY! I accepted eagerly and look forward to receiving Victoria again -- a little oasis of grace and peace in this busy and harried world.

Why Lent?

John Armstrong's weekly Act 3 articles are always thought-provoking, and this week's is no exception. Below I have posted a small portion of his article; you may read the entire thing at Act 3 Ministries. In the long version, he addresses whether Lent is a Biblical practice, the historical background of Lent, and the idea of asceticism. It's a great read, but if you only have time to read a smidge, then read what I've posted below, which is the concluding section of the article. Enjoy!

Lent This Year

Brennan Manning writes: "You see, the older I get, the more I ask myself, 'How is my life unfolding in terms of my primary goal of living with God forever?'" This is what has been dominant in my Lenten reflections this year. My regret is that it took me so long to see this picture of how my life was unfolding before God. It didn't need to be this way, I am now convinced. I don't blame my evangelicalism for this, but I do not think it helped me at this point either.

Lent, this year, is forcing me to take this question to heart on a day-to-day basis. If my goal is to be more like Christ, thus to see him and be satisfied with him, and him be satisfied with me, then this is the question to be asking right now.

What does Lent have to do with this question you ask? Well, it takes me out of my routines and raises all the right questions on an annual basis. There is an admonition that goes this way: "A Lent missed is a year lost from the spiritual life." I do not fully believe that, but I understand why it is stated that way now that I understand Lent better.

Emilie Griffin, in her new Lenten book, Small Surrenders (Paraclete Press: Brewster, Massachusetts, 2008) states this better than I can when she writes:

Lent has been marked out by the church as a time to ask oneself the big questions: What am I doing with my time? What am I doing with my life? How well am I expressing the imprint of Christ upon my heart? How deep is my charity? How deep is my love? How devoted is my service? How is my life unfolding in terms of my primary goal of living with God forever" (22)?

Griffin's title captures it for me. As an evangelical I was taught that there was really one great surrender, the one when I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior. Then there was a "second surrender" when I came into a deeper life of total commitment, or something like that. But "small surrenders" were not part of my framework. I think what I missed was huge now. "Lent," says Griffin, "is a time of benchmarks."

I find Lent to be a very evangelical experience. It reminds me that what I am, what I am becoming, is what allows me to become a "little Christ" and thus to become an expression of his life to others. Am I full of hope? Do I rejoice in suffering? Do I care about the needs in the lives of those around me?

Lent is coming to the question, intentionally and annually: "How am I doing?" An accurate answer will often elude us since sin blinds us even to ourselves. This is where spiritual friendship, godly counsel and the season of Lent all come to our aid. Authentic friendship and a non-showy pursuit of spiritual formation and personal transformation is what it is all about. Ideally, we all ask these questions throughout the entire year. Lent is, however, a wonderful reminder that we can use this forty day journey to intensify the question, thus we can pursue more directly more "small surrenders."

The Patron Saint of Christian Artists

(This last one has been my one and only wallpaper on my laptop -- I still love looking at it five years later -- it's such a wonderful depiction of "The Resurrection," only mine is much brighter).

I opened my usual Saint of the Day e-mail this morning, wondering who this Blessed John guy was, only to discover a tribute to my favorite artist, Fra Angelico. Below you will find the entry from AmericanCatholic.org, and I hope that you enjoy these works of my favorite artist. (You knew that my favorite artist would HAVE to be medieval, right????) Some of these are not very saturated colors because the frescoes are fading rapidly after nearly 600 years, but they are still stunning to this closet medievalist.

February 18, 2008

Blessed John of Fiesole

(c. 1400-1455)

The patron of Christian artists was born around 1400 in a village overlooking Florence. He took up painting as a young boy and studied under the watchful eye of a local painting master. He joined the Dominicans at about age 20, taking the name Fra Giovanni. He eventually came to be known as Fra Angelico, perhaps a tribute to his own angelic qualities or maybe the devotional tone of his works.

He continued to study painting and perfect his own techniques, which included broad-brush strokes, vivid colors and generous, lifelike figures. Michelangelo once said of Fra Angelico: “One has to believe that this good monk has visited paradise and been allowed to choose his models there.” Whatever his subject matter, Fra Angelico sought to generate feelings of religious devotion in response to his paintings. Among his most famous works are the Annunciation and Descent from the Cross as well as frescoes in the monastery of San Marco in Florence.

He also served in leadership positions within the Dominican Order. At one point Pope Eugenius approached him about serving as archbishop of Florence. Fra Angelico declined, preferring a simpler life. He died in 1455.
*****
I hope that you have enjoyed this Lenten inspiration painted by a holy monk who gives us a slight taste of heavenly glory as he used his brush to meditate upon the life, death, and resurrection of Christ our Lord. Whether it be via the brush or the pen, the camera or textiles, music or dance, or however God has gifted each of us, may we each bring glory to God through our artistic expression as Fra Angelico has shown us. I wish a blessed and holy Lent to each and every one of you, in the Name of our Saviour.

The Second Sunday in Lent

On this Second Sunday in Lent, I thought I'd share a little from my daily devotions with you. I'm also thrilled that an unspoken prayer of mine was answered so beautifully today at church. Lake Murray recently switched their pew Bibles from old New King James Version (NKJV) to the English Standard Version (ESV) as the latter is more accurate as well as more easily readable. Since the change, I've been wanting to read our daily Scripture in our homeschool from an ESV Bible, but I didn't have one. (Our old NIV is falling to pieces, and I prefer the accuracy of the ESV.) Anyway, today at church ESV Bibles were being given away for free! I took two, one for our school table and one for E whose NKJV is falling apart as well. Prayer answered and money saved! Thanks be to God!

Here is today's Collect for the Second Sunday in Lent from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer:

Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Psalms for the Seventeenth Morning in the 1928 BCP Psalter include Psalm 86-88; Psalm 86 especially caught my interest on this Second Sunday in Lent. Here follow a few passages from Psalm 86:

Be merciful unto me, O Lord; for I will call daily upon thee. Comfort the soul of thine servant; for unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For thou, O Lord, art good and gracious, and of great mercy unto all them that call upon thee. Give ear, Lord, unto my prayer, and ponder the voice of my humble desires. In the time of my trouble I will call upon thee, for thou hearest me. (verses 3-7)

For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: thou art God alone. Teach me thy way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy truth: O knit my heart unto thee, that I may fear [respect] thy Name. I will thank thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart; and will praise thy Name for evermore. For great is thy mercy toward me; and thou hast delivered me from the nethermost hell. (verses 10-13)

But thou, O Lord God, art full of compassion and mercy; long-suffering, plenteous in goodness and truth. O turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; give thy strength unto thy servant... because thou, Lord, hast holpen [helped] me, and comforted me. (verses 15-17)

I wish you a Blessed Lord's Day and a Holy Lent!