20260219 IN WHAT DOES YOUR LIFE CONSIST?
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 | 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.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
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.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
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.
Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation | Ps50:12,14 |
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
A pure heart create for me, O God,
and give me again the joy of your help.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Or: | Mt4:17 |
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Repent, says the Lord,
for the kingdom of heaven is close at hand.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
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?’
19 February 2026, Thursday after Ash Wednesday
IN WHAT DOES YOUR LIFE CONSIST?
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [Dt 30:15-20; Ps 1:1-4,6; Lk 9:22-25]
As we enter into the season of Lent, we are invited to enter deeply into our being and to ask the fundamental questions of life. What are these questions that require us to reflect if we want to live our lives meaningfully and purposefully? If Easter is the celebration of New Life, then it is necessary that we begin by inquiring what life is all about. The questions we must ask concern what defines our existence, namely meaning, purpose and value. In other words, what are we living for? In answering this question, we must consider what gives us fulfilment and meaning. So, depending on what we think can give us real satisfaction, joy and happiness, our values and priorities, our principals and beliefs will guide our decisions and actions.
So what do we all seek in life? Moses said to the people, “See, today I set before you, life and prosperity, death and disaster.” Clearly, we all seek life, not death, prosperity, not disaster. Indeed, man is afraid of poverty, suffering and death – not just biological death but also death in terms of social acceptance. As St Paul says, “For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1 Cor 15:25f) It is the fear of death that makes man selfish and inward-looking. We do not want to suffer or to die. In seeking to preserve ourselves and protect our interests, we become selfish and insecure. We feel the need to accumulate more for ourselves in case we should need it. This explains why many desire to be the best, the most successful, the most powerful, the most wealthy and famous. This made St Paul remarked, “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.” (1 Cor 15:56)
In the Gospel, the Lord asks us, like Moses, to examine our core values and primary direction of our life. What motivates us to work hard, get up each morning and apply ourselves fully to what we are doing? If our motivation is just for a life of luxury, wealth, pleasure and fame such a life will not give life but will actually destroy the person. Hence, the Lord asks, “What gain, then, is it for a man to have the whole world and to have lost or ruined his very self?” Worldly pursuits are ultimately futile. In the parable of the rich fool, the Lord warns us, “Take care! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of possessions.” (Lk 12:15)
Seeking life and prosperity is not a sin. We are all created for happiness, and God wants us to enjoy the gifts of His creation. God did not create us to suffer in this world. What causes suffering and misery is sin, the selfishness of man. With sin comes disorder in the world; with sin comes illness and death; with sin comes violence and killing. So, we must seek life and prosperity in the fullest sense of the term – not just in material prosperity but also growth in our spiritual, affective, social, intellectual and personal life. We need to develop the potentials that God has given us and to use them for our integral development.
So how does one find life and prosperity? Moses laid down the principles:, “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.” The principles are clearly spelt out in terms of obedience to the commandments of the Lord and His laws. These commandments, laws and customs are not meant to be obeyed slavishly and externally. Rather, we must enter into the heart and spirit of these commandments and make them our own. When we do not understand the rationale and the intent of the laws, such obedience alone will not transform us. On the contrary, they will not give us life. Instead, they will make us proud, self-righteous, and judgemental when we fulfil them; and when we fail, the very laws we uphold make us sinners, and we end up condemning ourselves.
In truth, we often overlook the purpose of the laws. They are means by which we show our love for God and, in the same way, God shows His love for us. In fact, Moses told the people, “You must observe them diligently, for this will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’ For what other great nation has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is whenever we call to him? And what other great nation has statutes and ordinances as just as this entire law that I am setting before you today?” (Dt 4:6-8) Commandments are given to us by God because He loves us and desires to give us the core values of life.
Life is ours only when we live in God’s love. Obedience to the commandments must be subordinated to the love of God. Moses said, “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today: 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.” Living in the love of God is the ultimate key to life and prosperity, joy and happiness, meaning and purpose. When we live in the love of God and know that He loves us, we will be willing to obey His commandments, because we know that they are given not to enslave us but as God’s Word – His wisdom and guide for our lives.
So, the key to finding happiness in life is to discover God’s love and wisdom more and more by listening to His Word. Indeed, the Lord reminds us about happiness when He said, “Strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Mt 6:33) He also said, “One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” (Mt 4:4) The psalmist says, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Ps 119:105) This is what the responsorial psalm reminds us as well: “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.” By paying attention to the Word of God, we learn to walk in truth and in charity.
In the Gospel, Jesus shows us the way to life by demonstrating the love of God and how we are called to live in that love. 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.” Jesus lived His life in such a way that He was not afraid of suffering and death. His life was lived completely for His Father and for His people. He lived in accordance with God’s plan and for His greater glory. And because He did everything for the love of His Father and for us, He lived His life to the fullest. He did not live for Himself but allowed His life to be given to others. As St Paul wrote, “For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” (2 Cor 8:9) Accordingly, the Lord invites those of us who want to find life, to “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.”
So, if we want to find life and prosperity, we must live a life of love which entails self-sacrifice, expressed in good deeds and kindness in both words and actions. While happiness in life does not exclude the joy of eating and drinking, what truly brings happiness is the fellowship and love we share with our brothers and sisters. What essentially gives us security in times of trials and difficulties is knowing that God is the ultimate goal of life. The things of this life cannot be fully enjoyed unless they are shared with others and when God becomes the source and object of that joy. To make our life worth living, we must live in the presence of God each day because man’s life consists of God Himself. When we include God in our daily life, glorifying Him in all that we do each day, giving Him thanks in our daily activities and praising Him, life becomes full of meaning.
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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