A Lenten Word - Choose

Homily for Thursday after Ash Wednesday

In the first reading for today’s liturgy, Moses speaks for God:

“Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.”

Although the word is not in today’s Gospel text, it is implied when Jesus tells us that to be his disciple means that we must follow him by picking up a cross and carrying it.

It is also implied in the most frequently asked question at this time of year. “What are you giving up for Lent?”

Making the choice to obey God’s commandments is making a choice to live eternally. Making the choice to follow Jesus is making a decision to conform ourselves to the image of Jesus. Choosing a penance for Lent involves making a choice to do without certain items or to add special activities to our daily schedule.

Adam and Eve made a choice. Abraham made a choice. Isaiah and Jeremiah and the other Hebrew prophets all made a choice. Our Blessed Mother, Mary, made a choice as did her spouse, St. Joseph. Many examples lie before us not only in the Scriptures but also in the traditions of our faith.

What choice is God asking you to make today, during this particular Lent.