This passage from Jeremiah is the Old Testament canticle for this morning's Lauds (Morning Prayer) in the Liturgy of the Hours. The prophet is foretelling the death and destruction in the wake of the Babylonians' siege of Jerusalem. Its applicability to the situation in Ukraine struck me.
In the space of the 2,600 years since Jeremiah delivered this oracle, the human race has made many strides forward in many ways, but wars, sieges, death and human-inflicted suffering continue to be a human reality. Here is the passage (Jer 14:17-21):
Let my eyes stream with tears
night and day, without rest,
Over the great destruction which overwhelms
the virgin daughter of my people,
over her incurable wound.
If I walk out into the field,
look! those slain by the sword;
If I enter the city,
look! those consumed by hunger.
Even the prophet and the priest forage
in a land they know not.
Have you cast Judah off completely?
Is Zion loathsome to you?
Why have you struck us a blow
that cannot be healed?
We wait for peace, to no avail;
for a time of healing, but terror comes instead.
We recognize our wickedness, LORD,
the guilt of our ancestors:
for we have sinned against you.
Do not reject us, for your name’s sake,
do not disgrace your glorious throne.
Remember your covenant with us
and break it not.
This is the sung version of the Old Testament Canticle by Paul Rose at SingtheHours
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVtyYC9Po5s&t=98s
Paul is a young guy who produces a daily sung version of the morning and evening prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours. Besides his vocal training, he is also very good at audio-visual production. He started this as a way to cope with the pandemic.
His father seems to be a Latin scholar and is doing a great job of translating some of the Latin hymns for the Divine Office. Unfortunately, the family's love of Latin results in a little too much use of it in the Office. Even though I understand Latin, I like his father's translations better. I love Latin psalms and antiphons but understanding Latin poetry does not come easy.
Thank you, Jim. This reminds me to keep praying and looking for ways to stand with the people in the path of Putin and other tyrants.
ReplyDeleteThat poignant reading comes to mind often during tines of war and oppression. One can only pray in solidarity.
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