Saturday of the Fifteenth Week in Ordinary Time

A bruised reed he will not break, a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory. - Matthew 12:20

You do see; for you behold misery and sorrow, taking them in your hands. The lament that God is hiding, that he stands aloof in the distress, turns in the psalm to the confession: but you do see. The misery is taken in the hands. The helpless man commits himself to the one who is actually present.

A bruised reed he will not break. The woman who has been bruised - by the plan executed in the morning power of someone else, by the accumulated damage of the long week, by the disappointment that has reduced her to less than she was - is not broken by the servant's hands. She is tended.

A smoldering wick he will not quench. The faith that has been reduced to a smoldering - that is still lit but not what it was - is not extinguished. The servant sees the remaining light and does not push harder on it until it goes out. He tends what remains until the justice comes to victory.

Name where you are a bruised reed or a smoldering wick right now. Not where you were, where you are. Name the specific damage, the specific reduction. Receive: he will not break, he will not quench. And name one person in your life who is bruised or smoldering and name one act of the servant's tending you can offer them this week.

Lord, I am bruised in some places. I am smoldering in some places. Do not break or quench. Tend what remains until the justice comes to victory. Precious Blood of Jesus, save us. Amen.