Both the first reading and the psalm response speak about the transitoriness of life. Life is all we have and it is so fragile, so fleeting. When we realise this, we may fear that in the end we will have nothing to show for our lives. Such thoughts show that we have not learned the most basic lesson of life – life is to be lived! The goods of the earth are both good and essential for survival and advancement. However, they do not satisfy the deepest longings of the human spirit. They provide us with pleasure and challenge, but they cannot shield us from the transitoriness of life itself. In the face of such impermanence, they are ultimately worthless. Life itself is the far greater good; goods only enhance life. Recognising the transitoriness of life and the vanity of goods, we come to see that the only reality worthy of our total commitment is our relationship with God in Christ. Though made of dust and thus subject to perishability, we are joined with Christ and are promised imperishability. Having died to the vanities of this world, having taken off our old selves with their evil desires, we can now live as a new self, in generosity rather than greed, with openness to others rather than religious or gender or social biases. In our commitment to Christ we will discover that we can transform what is transitory in life by giving it away in love. If we can live in this way, life is anything but vanity!   © Dianne Bergant CSA