Thursday after Ash Wednesday

Yesterday we were introduced to the season of Lent with the three disciplines referred to in the gospel, namely: prayer, almsgiving and fasting. They are indispensable pillars in the journey of spiritual growth. With prayer we bind ourselves to God without whom we can do nothing good. With almsgiving we grow in the first and greatest commandment of love. And with with fasting we develop a spiritual muscle by learning to say "no" even to desires that are permissible, so as to ready ourselves to say no to what desires that injure our moral and spiritual life. Today the readings invite us to contemplate even a greater discipline, namely carrying our cross, or, if put in other words, doing what God commands, especially when it is unwelcome to our natural inclination.

This is what is given in today's readings. In the first reading Moses invites the Israelites to choose life in preference for death; to choose to do what God commands and to refrain from following other gods or their own desires. In the gospel Jesus announces his coming passion, and invites his followers to carry their daily crosses and follow him daily, just as he is about to carry his own cross.

Three things distinguish the discipline which God chooses for us from our self-imposed discipline. The cross that God metes out for us is given. We do not choose it. It is different from the decision to intensify our prayer life by saying an extra rosary, or staying before the Blessed Sacrament some time every day, etc. It is different from our own chosen fasting. We might choose to skip a meal, or to reduce our daily intake of food, or to knock off some favorite dish from our daily menu, or to abstain from some other practice that is dear to us. The cross is also different from the different ways we choose to practice almsgiving. It is given us, and quite often we do not know what next to expect.

Secondly, the cross is painful. It is something unpleasant and unwelcome. Our nature balks against it. Just as Jesus wished that he might not drink the cup the Father had poured out for him, so we too recoil from our cross. If it does not hurt then it is not a cross to me. The cross may consist of the unpleasant aspects of my work. It may be sour relations that I must patch, or inordinate love relations I must break. It may be habits to overcome or pains to endure. It may be mild or acute, short term of long-lasting. But it is always painful.

Thirdly the cross is inescapable. I may reduce my self-imposed discipline in abstinence, prayer or almsgiving; I cannot reduce my cross. When I try to go round it, it becomes heavier with the added weight of guilt of neglect. However, when I have the courage to carry it then it is as though angels come and wait on me. It brings peace, liberation, serenity, strength to face new challenges. May we pray for the grace to discern what God wants us to do and the courage to do it.