Steve has two red bookmarks in his Springtime Divine Hours by Phyllis Tickle. They are cutouts of the celtic cross from the old Red Mountain Church bulletin covers. The first one holds the place at Thursday, March 3, the day after we found out he had cancer. The other one holds the place in early May, right before we were admitted to the hospital for the last time.
At the place of the first cross is a gospel reading from Luke 17:22-25 and a Refrain. Steve has circled it with his midnight blue uniball vision elite pen. He has written the word 'wow' to the side of it. He has underlined certain words.
I imagine him now, opening back to this page throughout the lenten days to follow, and being heartened.
The Reading
"He said to his disciples, 'A time will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man and will not see it. They will say to you, 'Look, it is there!' or, 'Look, it is here!' Make no move; do not set off in pursuit; for as the lightning flashes from one part of heaven lights up the other, so will be the Son of man when his Day comes. But first he is destined to suffer grievously and be rejected by this generation."
The Refrain
"Send forth your strength, O God, establish, O God, what you have wrought for us."
The Morning Psalm
"O Lord, what are we that you should care for us? mere mortals that you should think of us?
We are like a puff of wind, our days are like a passing shadow.
Bow your heavens, O Lord and come down, touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
Hurl the lightning and scatter them, shoot out your arrows and rout them.
Stretch out your hand from on high, rescue me and deliver me from the great waters, from the hand of foreign peoples,
whose mouths speak deceitfully and whose right hand is raised in falsehood."
and then Steve underlined the prayer:
O God, who before the passion of your only begotten Son revealed his glory upon the holy mountain;
Grant that I, beholding by faith the light of his countenance, may be strengthened to bear my cross, and be changed into his likeness from glory to glory; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(the words in italics are the ones he noted.)