18/02/09 Thursday after Ash Wednesday
Remember Deuteronomy 30: 15-30
These are the words of Moses, one of the giants in the Old Testament.
He lived between 1000 and 750B.C.
He was the great liberator of Israel from Egypt’s power,
He was the great shepherd of his people in the desert on their forty year journey to the Promised Land.
He spoke directly face to face with God and
He received the 10 commandments from
God on Mt. Sinai.
‘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.
…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 he
swore to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob he would give them.’
Reflect
Life nowadays can be very busy.
Work, traffic jams, family issues, viruses,
hours of work in own house or on the job elsewhere;
we often find it hard to sit down and just find time for ourselves.
Finding a space for God and personal prayer each day ensures
that we don’t lose ourselves or our God.
We can lose a lot along the way of life –
our health, wealth, reputation, even freedom.
In our efforts to distract ourselves from the pandemic
Amid the fear of contagion our greatest loss could be ourselves,
our way of life, our values or our loved ones.
Pray
Lord,
May everything we do today,
begin with your inspiration,
continue with your help and
reach it’s perfection under your guidance.
We ask for this in Jesus name, Amen
Hymn
You shall cross the barren desert
But you shall not die of thirst
You shall wander far in safety
Though you do not know the way
You shall speak your words to foreign men
And they will understand
You shall see the face of God and live
Refrain
Be not afraid
I go before you always
Come, follow me and I will give you rest
If you pass through raging waters in the sea
You shall not drown
If you walk amid the burning flames
You shall not be harmed
If you stand before the power of hell
And death is at your side
Know that I am with you through it all.
(St Louis Jesuits)
Refrain
