SAINT KATHARINE DREXEL, VIRGIN (OPTIONAL MEMORIAL)

Choose life. 

Doesn’t it seem a little out of place that here, at the beginning of our Lenten journey, we are reading Moses’ words to the Israelites at the end of their desert journey? But this reading actually carries a valuable message for us right now. Moses is telling us that every day during this season, we will face numerous choices about how we want to live, and he is giving us two simple words that will help guide us in those decisions: “Choose life” (Deuteronomy 30:19).

Every day we will find ourselves in situations in which we can decide whether to choose life by following the Lord or to go our own way. It can be as simple as deciding whether to pay attention to a stray thought that could spark envy or resentment in our hearts. Or it could be as complex as deciding whether to forgive someone who has hurt us. Every situation, in fact, offers us the opportunity to “choose life” by “holding fast” to the Lord (Deuteronomy 30:19, 20).

Moses tells us something else that is just as important: God will bless us every time we choose life. Moses promised the Israelites that this blessing would include a long life in the land that God had given them. But the blessings of life in Christ are far more expansive than that. They are the blessings of a closer relationship with him, the blessings of knowing his presence and hearing his voice more clearly. They are the blessings that St. Paul called the “fruit of the Spirit”—love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, and faithfulness (Galatians 5:22).

Jesus knows that it can be hard to follow him. He knows that choosing his way sometimes means denying ourselves and taking up our cross (Luke 9:23). But he also knows that the blessings far outweigh the costs. And so as we begin our journey through Lent, he is asking us to count the cost and choose life. He is asking us to look at every situation as another opportunity to choose his way—and to know the blessings that such a choice will bring.

So how do you want to live today?

“Jesus, I believe that you want nothing more than to fill me with your love. Lord, help me to choose life today. Help me to choose you.”

Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Luke 9:22-25
Deuteronomy 30:15-20