The Old Testament reading for today is the Third Servant Song of Isaiah, of which this is a part: ‘For the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been confounded; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame; he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God helps me …’

Normally we hear this text on the context of Holy Week, so it is good to hear it fresh in a different season of the Church’s year. Flint is hard, and it recalls for us the strong will of the Lord to endure His Passion, for us.

Yet, in His weakness, He prayed: ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt’. This ‘Fiat’ of Our Lord parallels that made by His Mother, at the Annunciation. May we too make our own ‘Fiat’ this day, and may God bless you abundantly in response.