Deuteronomy 30: 15-20
Moses said to the people:
“See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, death and adversity. If you obey the commandments of the Lord your God that I am commanding you today, by loving the Lord your God, walking in his ways, and observing his commandments, decrees, and ordinances, then you shall live and become numerous, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land that you are entering to possess.
“But if your heart turns away and you do not hear, but are led astray to bow down to other gods and serve them, I declare to you today that you shall perish; you shall not live long in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life so that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying him, and holding fast to him; for that means life to you and length of days, so that you may live in the land that he Lord swore to give to your ancestors, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.”
New Revised Standard Version, copyright 1989, by the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. USCCB approved.
A Simple Choice
Moses speaks plainly to the people: a choice stands before you. Life and prosperity, or death and adversity. Choose life.
The choice sounds simple, yet we know how easily our hearts are led astray. We bow before many lesser gods. We give our energy to politics, productivity, consumerism, old wounds, and unexamined habits. Without noticing, we spend more time serving what drains us than what gives us life.
In these early days of Lent, Moses’ words invite us to pause and pay attention. Where do you notice life stirring in you? Where do you sense blessing, freedom, or deeper love? And where might God be gently inviting you to choose differently?
Choosing life is not about perfection. It is about turning, again and again, toward love. Today, what would it mean for you to choose life?
—Br. Bobby Nichols, SJ, is a Jesuit of the Midwest Province serving as a Campus Minister at Loyola University Chicago.
Prayer
Lord, teach me to be generous.
Teach me to serve you as you deserve;
to give and not to count the cost,
to fight and not to heed the wounds,
to toil and not to seek for rest,
to labor and not to ask for reward,
save that of knowing that I do your will.
Amen.
—Prayer for Generosity
Pray with the Pope
Pray with the monthly prayer intentions of the pope.