Women's History Month - Four
LIBERATION LECTIONARY - WEEK FIVE OF LENT
“I want to be remembered as someone who used herself and anything she could touch to work for justice and freedom. I want to be remembered as one who tried.” Dorothy Height
Finding Peace Along the Way
Daily Scriptures
Sunday: Psalm 25.1-3 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.
Monday: Psalm 25.4-5 Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
Tuesday: Psalm 25.6-7 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.
Wednesday: Psalm 25.8-11 Good and upright is the Lord; therefore God instructs sinners in holy ways. God guides the humble in what is right and teaches us Their Divine way. All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of Their covenant. For the sake of your name, O Lord, forgive my failures, though they are great.
Thursday: Psalm 25.12-15 Who, then, are those who fear the Lord? They will instruct us in the ways we should choose. We will spend our days in prosperity, and their descendants will inherit the land. The Lord confides in those who reverence Them; God makes a covenant known to them. My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only God will release my feet from the snare.
Friday: Psalm 25. 16-19 Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted. Relieve the troubles of my heart and free me from my anguish. Look on my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins.See how numerous are my enemies and how fiercely they hate me!
Saturday: Psalm 25.20-22 Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you. May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you. Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!
Reflection: Lent during Ramadan
Ramadan Begins - We mark this holy season and honor our beloved neighbors in this Abrahamic faith by joining their prayers, and connecting in the Lenten fast. During Ramadan, most Muslim people fast from food and water from sunrise to sunset. Ramadan revives the sense of community and strengthens bonds and friendships.
Every year, Muslims around the world anticipate the sighting of the new crescent moon that signifies the official first day of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and the most sacred month in Islamic culture.
The start of Ramadan fluctuates each year because the lunar Islamic calendar follows the phases of the moon. The beginning and end of Ramadan are determined by a moon sighting committee in Saudi Arabia.
Sawm, the fast, is one of the five pillars of Islam. Sawm is a spiritual discipline and is a time of contemplation of a Muslim’s relationship with Allah.
The reason that Muslims observe sawm is because the Prophet Muhammad spent a similar time fasting in isolation, meditating in a cave in Mount Hira, located near Mecca, which is where the angel Jibril revealed the first passages of what would become known as the Holy Qur’an.
In honor of Women’s History Month, we are remembering Dorothy Height this week.
Dorothy Irene Height was born on March 24th, 1912 in Richmond, Virginia. Her family later moved to Rankin, Pennsylvania where she excelled as a student. Height eventually received a scholarship to attend college. In 1929, she was admitted to Barnard College but was not allowed to attend because the school did not admit African Americans. Instead, Height went on to graduate from New York University where she received a bachelor’s in education and master’s in psychology. Her first job was as a social worker in Harlem, New York. She later joined the staff of the Harlem Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA). In no time, Height became a leader in the local organization. She created diverse programs and pushed the organization to integrate YWCA facilities nationwide.
During a chance encounter with African American leader Mary McLeod Bethune, Height was inspired to begin working with the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW). Through the NCNW, Height focused on ending the lynching of African Americans and restructuring the criminal justice system. In 1957, she became the fourth president of the NCNW. Under her leadership, the NCNW supported voter registration in the South. The NCNW also financially aided several civil rights activists throughout the country. Height was president of NCNW for 40 years.
Height’s prominence in the Civil Rights Movement and unmatched knowledge in organizing, meant she was regularly called to give advice on political issues. Eleanor Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Lyndon B. Johnson often sought her counsel. In 1963, Height, along with other civil rights activists organized the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Although she played a role in the march, she was not invited to speak. In fact, originally no women were included on the program at all. Height and Anna Arnold Hedgeman persuaded the other organizers to allow a woman to speak. Despite the apparent gender discrimination in the Civil Rights Movement, Height continued working on the front lines.
Meditation Prayer: for Ramadan
“Oh Allah, make me a person who reminds others of the wonder of Your Mercy, Your Grace and Your Light. Make me a person who draws others closer to You” from Flowers Podcast
“Oh Allah, You are as I want You to be, make me as You want me to be.”
“Ego whispers, once everything falls into place, I’ll feel at peace. Allah beckons, Come closer to Me. Along the way you’ll find peace and whatever you need.”
Sources and Resources
Learn more about Ramadan :