Tag: daily Gospel readings

Saturday of the First Week in Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches the disciples about love of enemies as part of the Sermon on the Mount. He teaches them about the fulfillment of Mosaic law, about anger, adultery, divorce, and retaliation. In today’s passage on love of enemies, Jesus begins with the Old Testament way of thinking—love your neighbor and hate your enemy—and turns it upside down by telling the disciples to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. The reason for this, Jesus goes on to say, is so that the disciples may be children of the heavenly Father.

God, help me understand your ways. To love my enemies is to go against instinct and to call me to perfection. “So be perfect,” Jesus says, “just as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Part of what makes it hard to love my enemies is to admit that I have enemies and hold grudges that keep them my enemies. Open my eyes, God, to my inability to pray for those who have hurt me and forgive them; help me make a return to you in childlike love and trust.

Teach me, Jesus, to love my enemies—the ones I encounter today and the ones I don’t see coming—so that your Spirit within me prays for them and forgives them. Lord, let me know you are near!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Friday of the First Week in Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar, and there recall that your brother has anything against you, leave your gift there at the altar, go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift.”

In today’s Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus tells his disciples about the necessity of righteousness and reconciliation. What good is a gift or sacrifice of any kind if behind it lies resentment and division. First, Jesus says, reconcile with your brother and only then offer your gift. Jesus tells his disciples to forgive others not to suggest the foundation of a new social order but to offer us life itself, everlasting life. As the Lord says in the first reading from Ezekiel: “If the wicked man turns away from all the sins he committed, if he keeps all my statutes and does what is right and just, he shall surely live, he shall not die.”

God, help me understand that what your Son tells me in today’s Gospel, I hear whenever I pray the Our Father: forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Out of your mercy and through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, you forgive me my sins. How can I be merciful to others unless I recognize the depth of your mercy? “If you, O LORD, mark iniquities, LORD, who can stand? But with you is forgiveness, that you may be revered.” Through reconciliation with my brother and with you, I am able to come to you in the Eucharist with the gift of self, freed from sin and division.

Lord, let me remember today to trust in your mercy: to ask for it, to be merciful, and to completely trust in it.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Thursday of the First Week in Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “Which one of you would hand his son a stone when he asked for a loaf of bread, or a snake when he asked for a fish? If you then, who are wicked, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good things to those who ask him.”

Jesus relates to the disciples the need to pray sincerely. “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” In these short teachings, Jesus makes clear the need to ask, seek, and knock in prayer. In response, God’s perfect generosity is poured out in return. Although what we receive in prayer may not be exactly what we asked for, Jesus tells us that it will be so much more than what a father offers his son to sustain him.

God, help me take to heart two simple things your Son tells me about prayer: ask and receive. In order to receive the good things you give me, open my eyes to see that your will being done, not mine, is the good that I often fail to recognize. I want to remember today to ask you for help in knowing and doing your will, and I want to receive with a widened heart the good you give me that I might otherwise not see.

Lord, here I am before you. I ask for the grace today to know that you are with me. Let me recognize in the succession of moments that make up the day that as a loving Father you always give good gifts. Help open my hands to receive those gifts.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Wednesday of the First Week in Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

“This generation is an evil generation; it seeks a sign, but no sign will be given it, except the sign of Jonah. Just as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so will the Son of Man be to this generation.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus refers to the first reading from Jonah, who traveled throughout Nineveh, announcing that in forty days the city would be destroyed. But when the king of Nineveh heard Jonah’s announcement, he called for man and beast alike to be covered with sackcloth and call loudly to God, turning from evil and renouncing violence. Their faith in God’s mercy saved them: “When God saw by their actions how they turned from their evil way,” Jonah says, “he repented of the evil that he had threatened to do to them; he did not carry it out.” Jesus compares himself to Jonah, but as Jesus says of himself as the savior of all through his death and resurrection, “there is something greater than Jonah here.”

God, open my eyes to the meaning of the Gospel as it relates to this day. No sign will be given this generation, says Jesus, except the sign of Jonah. Jesus’ sign as the Son of God would mean that through his Passion, death, and resurrection, repentance would lead not only to a new life in him but in everlasting life. Father in heaven, your Son is your final word. He is what he points to: the God of the living. The invitation to share in eternal life with the Father begins through repentance and recognizing the need to return to you. From the Gospel acclamation: “Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart for I am gracious and merciful.”

Thank you, Lord, for your loving presence. Let me rest in that today and make a place for it in my heart. “A clean heart create for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Tuesday of the First Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “If you forgive men their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.”

In today’s Gospel reading from Matthew, Jesus follows his teaching on almsgiving by showing the disciples how to pray. The Our Father, the perfect prayer that Jesus gives to us as a way to communicate with God, is a reaching out to Our Father, who knows what we need before we ask him. Jesus tells us: “In praying, do not babble like the pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them.” In recognizing that God gives us everything we need every day and forgives our trespasses, the Our Father calls us to be merciful just as God is merciful: “Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church says this about forgiving others: “It is impossible to keep the Lord’s commandment by imitating the divine model from outside; there has to be a vital participation, coming from the depths of the heart, in the holiness and the mercy and the love of our God. Only the Spirit by whom we live can make ‘ours’ the same mind that was in Christ Jesus. Then the unity of forgiveness becomes possible and we find ourselves ‘forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave’ us.”

God, help me understand that imitation of your divine forgiveness comes from the heart through the grace and mercy you pour forth. I ask you for the grace to have the mind of Christ in praying the Our Father and in forgiving others. Your Son called us to be perfect just as you are perfect. Perfect in me the means to receive your love so that I can be a means of it to others in mercy and forgiveness.

Work with me today, Lord, and work through me. And let me say at the end of the day that I have known the Father’s embrace.

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.

Readings

Monday of the First Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Jesus said to his disciples: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus shares with his disciples an image of the final judgment. When the Son of Man comes in his glory, he will separate the righteous from the unrighteous (the sheep and the goats) based on their treatment of others. Jesus recognizes the good deeds of the righteous—their kindness and compassion toward others—while he condemns the unrighteous saying of them: “And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” But of the righteous, Jesus says: “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”

God, help me understand that how I treat others directly relates to my relationship with you. It is not that I daily encounter the physically hungry, or naked, or those who are ill or in prison. Where are the hungry, the naked, the ill, and those in prison who are closest to me? Help me satisfy even among my own family the hunger for compassion or the need for a burden to be lifted. I want to welcome those opportunities for the sake of your glory. But I first have to recognize when that opportunity to care for another is right before my eyes.

Thank you, Lord, for the gift of your presence! In that light, I have the hope of being merciful even as I trust in you to be completely merciful. Let me remember today to ask for your mercy so that I can be a means of it to others.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

First Sunday of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” He said in reply, “It is written: One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the desert for the purpose of being tempted by the devil. Twice, Satan tempts Jesus beginning with the words “If you are the Son of God.” In Jesus’ many encounters with the evil spirits that he rebuked, the spirits recognize Jesus immediately by saying “I know who you are—the Holy One of God.” Satan knows well that Jesus is the Son of God; it is the Father of Lies who tries to weaken Jesus by questioning his divine identity. In the same way, the first reading from Genesis shows how Satan questioned Eve, weakening her reliance God’s word: “Did God really tell you not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?”

God, help me understand how to face temptations as Jesus did. He gives us the exact way to respond when tempted: not through argument buy by invoking your holy name. “One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” And “You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.” Jesus says to him, “Get away, Satan! It is written: The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.” For every lie Satan presents to Jesus, he refutes it with truth, the word that comes forth from your mouth. By saying “Get away, Satan!” Jesus declares his divine authority as your Son. Just as you spoke light into existence, Jesus speaks and Satan leaves him.

When tempted, Lord, let me look to what follows as Jesus conquers temptation. “Then the devil left him,” Matthew says, “and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.” When I am tempted, Lord, and desire what I want when I want it, let your Spirit within me speak your name, my Lord and my God.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Saturday after Ash Wednesday

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

The Pharisees and their scribes complained to his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” Jesus said to them in reply, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do. I have not come to call the righteous to repentance but sinners.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls Levi, a tax collector, to follow him, and Levi responds by giving a great banquet for Jesus. When criticized by the Pharisees for eating with sinners, Jesus says that he came to call sinners, not the righteous, to repentance. He says, “Those who are healthy do not need a physician, but the sick do.” It is nothing short of wholeness that Jesus invites Matthew into. Luke tells us that Matthew left everything behind. The result of that, as the first reading from Isaiah says, is renewed strength: “Then light shall rise for you in the darkness, and the gloom shall become for you like midday . . . He will renew your strength, and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring whose water never fails.”

God, help me understand what Matthew came to learn. In inviting Matthew to follow you, you brought him into healing and wholeness. Let me see in that an invitation for me as well and the conversion that results from recognizing my need for your Son, the Divine Physician. As in the Responsorial Psalm, I pray for this recognition. “Incline your ear, O LORD, answer me, for I am afflicted and poor.” Give me the grace today to put pride and self-reliance aside to receive your mercy. As French priest Father Jacques Philippe suggests, self-emptying allows you, Lord, space to work within me: “We have a hard time accepting that we are poor of heart. To receive everything from the mercy of God—to accept that God is our source of richness and not ourselves—requires a great poverty of heart.”

Lord, bestow on me the poverty of heart that makes room for you for me to follow you and do your will.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

Friday after Ash Wednesday

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” Jesus answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

Jesus responds to the disciples of John and to the Pharisees by comparing himself to the bridegroom. When the bridegroom is taken away, then the fasting will follow. Because Christ is the bridegroom, the Church is is bride. And when the Church fasts, she fasts in mourning because Christ has been taken away. The kind of fasting Christ calls us to the LORD makes known in the first reading from Isaiah: “This, rather, is the fasting that I wish: releasing those bound unjustly, untying the thongs of the yoke; Setting free the oppressed, breaking every yoke; Sharing your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless; Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your own.”

God, help me understand the goodness that comes from a contrite, humbled heart. As the psalmist says, “My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.” In avoiding evil and doing good, I live so that you many be with me. Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Jesus said to his disciples: “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus presents his disciples with a paradox—a seemingly contradictory teaching that describes a spiritual truth: to lose your life in following Christ is to save it. Another paradox: to deny yourself in taking up your cross is to find in Christ your true identity. Doing this daily can feel like driving on the wrong side of the street to reach a destination; it’s counterintuitive. What can I do today to drop a seemingly vital action for the sake of taking up my cross? And in taking up my cross daily, I have the hope of gaining new life in Christ. Do I hold that truth in my heart?

God, in recognizing that I easily become discouraged when clinging to my own ways, I want to understand how self-denial leads me on a path toward following you. What am I clutching in fear that would seem to spell disaster when letting go of it? If there is not one big thing I can think of, please give me the grace to identify something I can forgo that instinct seems to say is vital. God, let me desire not to gain a greater share of the world today but to lose that share for the sake of saving my life through Christ. Let me come to know the hope that springs from letting go and allowing you to lead me. Saint Polycarp, martyr of the faith, pray for us!

Thank you, Lord, for the gifts of intellect and will that lead me to know and choose you. Make yourself known to me today!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings