Thursday after Ash Wednesday 2023
“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.”
—Deuteronomy 30:19b-20a
In talks and written reflections about Lent that I’ve offered over the years, I have often highlighted the fact that Lent is a season of discipleship. We spend these forty days reflecting on the quality of our Christian life always looking towards Easter and the renewal of our baptismal promises. The readings for this Thursday after Ash Wednesday bring out another important aspect of this holy season: Lent is a season of decision.
In the First Reading, Moses invites the Chosen People to recommit themselves to their covenant relationship with God. By choosing to obey the Lord’s statutes and decrees, they choose what is truly life giving. We see this same dynamic at work in the Gospel, as Jesus tells his disciples that to choose to follow him means to choose to embrace the cross, as well. What seem to be decisions for surrender and powerlessness, when seen with the eyes of faith, are in fact a choice of freedom and abundance of life.
“Lenten penance is a commitment, sustained by grace, to overcoming our lack of faith and our resistance to following Jesus on the way of the cross.”—Pope Francis, Message for Lent 2023
Although we might think of the choice to take up the cross as a dramatic moment of decision—and there are times in life when it might be—to choose the cross is, generally, a decision we make again and again. The decision to choose life (using Moses’ words), to deny ourselves, and follow Jesus step-by-step, day-by-day, is one that must be made again and again. And, as we know, even in our best moments we do not always choose what we should.
These days of Lent and the good works of prayer, fasting and almsgiving, are an important opportunity for us to set aside distractions and many of the things and commitments that occupy our time and energy. The invitation, then, is for us to use the freedom Lent offers us to look at our lives and the be honest about what receives priority and preference, even in our smallest decisions. This free, honest assessment becomes the first step in conversion and our movement toward the cross and life.
Prompt our actions with your inspiration, we pray, O Lord,
and further them with your constant help,
that all we do may always begin from you
and by you be brought to completion.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever. Amen.
-Collect for Thursday after Ash Wednesday; Image: Christ Bearing the Cross by Nikolaos Tzafouris (d. 1601) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
