I have always found today's daily readings to be not only a challenge to me, but also a great source of consolation and comfort.
The response, 'Blessed are they who hope in the Lord!' What else is there really? Hope! We have hope! The Lord has promised us so much, and had given us a path to Holiness! We should have hope that God makes everything beautiful, both successes and hardships.
The first reading is all about how following the commandments will lead to life: true, lasting, perfect, joyful life!
"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."
And then we have the Gospel reading in which Christ tells us that if we want to follow him we must deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow him.
Lasting life requires selflessness. It requires that we accept the crosses in our lives, and follow Christ. It is in being faithful to the Lord, that we find true peace and joy. But, it is hard. To deny ourselves takes work. God has known that. He gave us commandments to help us. The acts of penance: prayer, fasting and alms giving help us to get back on track.
Let us take time this Lent to work hard on ourselves. And as we follow Christ to his crucifixion, we will be more open and ready to join him in his Resurrection.
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