Daily Meditation for March 11, 2024

Today, March 11, our Muslim friends and neighbors begin their monthlong observance of Ramadan. The date for Ramadan is based on the lunar calendar, which is the same as the Christian calendar in arranging the date for Lent and Easter. Many of the practices of Ramadan are not unlike the practices of Lent: remembering wrongs or sins we may have committed, making amends for wrongdoing, fasting, eating special foods, quiet time for prayer and family, resolves to do better, and a celebration when the Ramadan is over. One of the interesting themes of Ramadan goes something like: “God made you a HUMAN being because he wants to see you in heaven. Prove you are worth it.” Human beings are endowed with intelligence and moral standards. We are charged with shared responsibility for the well-being of all God’s creatures and for the health of all creation.

By Judy Kramer, OSB