Luke 13:10-13 : "One sabbath day Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who for eighteen years had been possessed by a spirit that left her enfeebled; she was bent double and quite unable to stand upright. When Jesus saw her he called her over and said, ‘Woman, you are rid of your infirmity’ and he laid his hands on her. And at once she straightened up, and she glorified God."

Looking at this woman we can make our own the words she must have addressed to him: Straighten me up Lord!

Straighten me up during this meditation Lord, during this time in my life, so that I not be overly focused just on the dirt at my feet… I’ve kept my eyes low on the ground, in the dirt, in too much human vision. I’ve been bent over, I’ve been crooked and contorted, not standing up with confidence and calm. Let us be positive. Let us dream.

Pope Francis said in Macedonia (May 2019), addressing the young people: “Let me tell you that one can never dream too much. One of the big problems people have today, including so many young people, is that they have lost their ability to dream. They don’t dream, either much or little. When someone does not dream, when a young person does not dream, that empty space gets filled with complaints and a sense of hopelessness.”

Music: Handel’s opera, Rinaldo, with the aria, Lascia ch’io pianga, played by Bert Alink