February 26, 2004 - Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Time of Penance

For the model of celebration of this day, see Liturgy Alive for the Sundays of Years A, B, or C.

Fidelity Brings Life

Readings:
Dt 30:15-20; Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6; Lk 9:22-25

Introduction

Faithfulness is not easy except if we are intensely committed to a person we love. If we are loyal, we share in the joys and trials of the other person and we never lose our serenity or basic happiness. This is also true in our relationship with God, which we live most intensely if we are strongly dedicated to Christ. We follow him in his passion to rise with him in joy. For if we are with him, even death brings life and happiness.

Opening Prayer

Lord our God,
you love us and you invite us
to share in your own life and joy,
through a personal decision.
Help us to choose you and life
and to remain ever loyal
to this basic option
by the power of Jesus Christ, your Son,
who was loyal to you and to us,
now and for ever.

Scripture Readings

First Reading: Dt 30:15-20

Moses said to the people:
"Today I have set before you
life and prosperity, death and doom.
If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today,
loving him, and walking in his ways,
and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,
you will live and grow numerous,
and the LORD, your God,
will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.
If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,
but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,
I tell you now that you will certainly perish;
you will not have a long life
on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy.

I call heaven and earth today to witness against you:
I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God,
heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
For that will mean life for you,
a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore
he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob."

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6

R. (40:5a) Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

Gospel Reading: Lk 9:22-25

Jesus said to his disciples, "The Son of Man must suffer many things. He will be rejected by the elders and chief priests and teachers of the Law, and put to death. Then after three days he will be raised to life."

He also said to all the people, "If you wish to be a follower of mine, deny yourself and take up your cross each day, and follow me. For if you choose to save your life, you will lose it, and if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it. What does it profit you to gain the whole world while you destroy or damage yourself?"

Commentary

EVER since I read Johann Tauler comment (14th century) I always remember it when I read this text. Jesus did not say, "Take up my cross," but "Take up your cross."

Let me quote Joko Beck, a zen master, on this subject, "I notice that people who have been practicing [meditation] for some time begin to have a sense of humor about their burden. After all, the thought that life is a burden is only a concept. We're simply doing what we're doing, second by second by second. The measure of fruitful practice is that we feel life less as a burden and more as a joy. That does not mean there is no sadness, but the experience of sadness is exactly the joy. If we don't find such a shift happening over time, then we haven't yet understood what practice is; the shift is a reliable barometer."

The best example of this "shift" is in John's gospel: John loved to play on the paradox of "raised up": Jesus would be lifted up in shame on the cross, but that lifting up in shame is also a lifting up in glory (see March 30). [See also February 20]

General Intercession

–   That God may give us every day the courage to follow him, also when the choice between good and evil is difficult, we pray:

–   For the People of God, the Church, that we may have the insight and the bravery to accept the reform needed to be true to Christ, we pray:

–   For the good people who help others in their difficulties, that their good deeds may bring them closer to the Lord, we pray:

Prayer over the Gifts

Lord our God,
Jesus went the way of the cross
because he was loyal to you
whatever the cost.
May we be loyal with him
and accept crosses that come our way in life
without rebellion or discouragement.
May Christ give us this strength now,
that we may live with him for ever.

Prayer after Communion

Lord our God,
by the strength of this eucharist
we return to our work and to people.
Help us to live our faith consistently,
as Christ wants us to live it,
without compromise or bargaining.
May Christ give us this strength
of being loyal to his person
now and for ever.

Blessing

Those who accept the difficulties of life to serve God and people, “who lose their life for my sake,” as Jesus says, are taking up their cross and following Christ. May almighty God bless them and us, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

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