Lenten Moments of Mercy: Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Thursday after Ash Wednesday Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes   Jesus calls us to choose life—to live for God and for others.

Scripture “They are like trees             planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season.” Psalm 1:3   Reflection We are all impatient. Sometimes that impatience shows in feeling that we are getting stuck in life. For many younger people impatience is seen in being dissatisfied in whatever life has to offer, an inability to make long-term commitments, or looking always to see what is around the next corner. Relationships can be seen as a series of short-term happenings. One result of these short-term happenings over time is their lives “are like chaff that the wind drives away.” (Psalm 1:4) The first Scripture reading from Deuteronomy is a final instruction from Moses to the people as they are getting ready to enter the Promised Land. This is the end of a long, fractious journey of 40 years in which an impatient people complained about the food and the trials in the desert; they wished for a return to slavery where they could eat fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. (Numbers 11:5) The people had a choice. They could dwell in their impatient attitudes and return to the slavery of their individual desires, or they could choose life and hold fast to the teachings of God. Jesus also calls us to choose life. We can dwell in impatience, thinking that we are making free choices. But that will always draw us into the latest fad. On the other hand, if we take up the cross every day—meaning that we will live for God and others rather than just for ourselves—that will lead to the joy only God can give. In this joy we will flourish.

Pope Francis “Let us think about Jesus who goes before us, who guides us along the way. This is our joy and this is our fruitfulness: to travel with Jesus.” Morning Meditation, 6 March 2014   Lenten Action ► Participate in CRS Rice Bowl from Catholic Relief Services.  ► Watch a video on Almsgiving and Joy During Lent, featuring James Martin, SJ.   Prayer O Lord, give us the grace to lose our life in order that we might be saved.

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