Holy Saturday

If, then, we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. We know that Christ, raised from the dead, dies no more; death no longer has power over him. As to his death, he died to sin once and for all; as to his life, he lives for God. Consequently, you too must think of yourselves as being dead to sin and living for God in Christ Jesus.

To become better followers of Christ, we must do two things. We must die to sin and live for God. The former requires us to be able to resist temptation and sin no more. If we do sin, then we need to reconcile with God through the sacrament of confession. We need to bring ourselves before our Savior, seek his forgiveness with contrite hearts, and do penance for what we have done and failed to do. The second part of the equation requires us to know, love, and serve God and His children with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths. To do this we need to imitate Christ in all things and become living sacrifices, pouring ourselves out in acts of charity and mercy just as Jesus did in his most holy life. Once we do both these things we will discover that our thoughts, words, and works bear good fruit and death loses its power over us, becoming instead a doorway to an abundant afterlife with God.

Have we died to our sins? Are we living for God? How can we become more Christ-like in everything we think, say, and do?

O Lord, we want to die to sin so that we might live for and with you forever.

Amen.

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. Choose life, then, that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God, heeding his voice, and holding fast to him. For that will mean life for you, a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

No matter how much we might want to convince ourselves otherwise, it is only by dying to our self interests that we can live for God. Every time we choose selfish sin over selfless love, we choose death over life. Every time we choose power, glory, wealth, lust, or any other vice over virtue, we choose death over life. Every time we turn our backs on the needs of others in favor of our own wants, we choose death over life. It is not easy choosing life over death because we are told that it’s the people you know, the places you go, and the things you have that prove whether your life is worth living. However, all of these worldly things are temporary. They are not the foundation of everlasting life. They come and go, but God remains with us always. It is only by loving Him, heeding His Voice, and Holding fast to Him that we find the true purpose of our lives. Without Him, we are dead, but with Him we shall live forever.

Are we choosing a blessed life with God or a cursed death with the world? Have we loved God as we should and heeded His Voice? What can we do to show that we are holding fast to God and His message of selfless love?

O Lord, give us lives that last, filled with faith and good works.

Amen.