First reading Deuteronomy 30:15-20
I set before you today life or death, blessing or curse
Moses said to the people: ‘See, today I set before you life and prosperity, death and disaster. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I enjoin on you today, if you love the Lord your God and follow his ways, if you keep his commandments, his laws, his customs, you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you are entering to make your own. But if your heart strays, if you refuse to listen, if you let yourself be drawn into worshipping other gods and serving them, I tell you today, you will most certainly perish; you will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today: I set before you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live, in the love of the Lord your God, obeying his voice, clinging to him; for in this your life consists, and on this depends your long stay in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he would give them.’
Responsorial Psalm 1:1-4,6
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind:
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
Gospel Luke 9:22-25
Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes and to be put to death, and to be raised up on the third day.’
Then to all he said:
‘If anyone wants to be a follower of mine, let him renounce himself and take up his cross every day and follow me. For anyone who wants to save his life will lose it; but anyone who loses his life for my sake, that man will save it. What gain, then, is it for a man to have won the whole world and to have lost or ruined his very self?’
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Following Jesus to the cross
As we begin this Lenten journey, we hear the words of Jesus: “The Son of Man is destined to suffer grievously, to be rejected by the elders.” This powerful statement invites us to reflect on the inevitability of suffering in our own lives as we strive to follow Him. Just as Jesus faced deep anguish and rejection, we too will encounter our own challenges.
Pope John Paul II reminds us that “Jesus Christ has taken the lead on the way of the cross. He has suffered first. He does not drive us toward suffering but shares it with us, wanting us to have life and to have it in abundance.” In this light, we come to realise that our struggles are not faced alone; Jesus walks beside us, offering His strength and compassion amid our trials. Let us remember that Jesus has not only taken the lead on the way of the cross, but has also shown us that, through suffering, comes growth, resilience, and ultimately renewal. With faith in our hearts, we step forward, boldly choosing to walk our path, knowing that our burdens are shared and understood by the One who loves us most deeply.
Reflective question:
What are some challenges in my life that I can surrender to Jesus as I strive to follow Him faithfully in the way of the cross?
Acknowledgment: Reflections are based on “Prayer for Living: The Word of God for Daily Prayer Year A” by Sr Maria Jose FMVD
