Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection August 09, 2024
Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time
09th August 2024 (Friday)
Psalter: Week 2
Reading of the Day
First Reading: Nahum 1:15; 2:2; 3:1-3, 6-7
Behold, upon the mountains, the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace! Keep your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows, for never again shall the worthless pass through you; he is utterly cut off. For the Lord is restoring the majesty of Jacob as the majesty of Israel, for plunderers have plundered them and ruined their branches. Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder—no end to the prey! The crack of the whip, and rumble of the wheel, galloping horse and bounding chariot! Horsemen charging, flashing sword and glittering spear, hosts of slain, heaps of corpses, dead bodies without end—they stumble over the bodies! I will throw filth at you and treat you with contempt and make you a spectacle. And all who look at you will shrink from you and say, “Wasted is Nineveh; who will grieve for her?” Where shall I seek comforters for you?
Psalm Deuteronomy 32:35cd-36ab, 39abcd, 41 (R. 39c)
R/. It is I who deal death and give life.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel : Matthew 16:24-28
At that time: Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Friday – Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Guidelines: We can never truly follow Jesus without cross and loss, and it will be totally missing the point of following Jesus if we try to shun cross in life
1. It really looks ridiculous that many try to profess their loyalty to the crucified Saviour without really understanding and following his way. Can one follow the Crucified with no connection at all to his cross?
2. Can one be a disciple without following the teachings of his Guru? Can one be a good servant without serving his master? Can one be a true companion without accompanying his partner? Can one be a genuine lover without loving his beloved even to the extent of death for the loved one?
3. Often many are confused and misguided in following Jesus. It is not because of a lack of clarity on the part of Jesus. No, Jesus is crystal clear in his demands and promises. He never makes false promises, nor is he satisfied with half-measures and compromises.
4. One can never be an authentic disciple of Jesus if he is not detached from his ego and self-interests, if he is not ready to bear the cross of suffering and unfavourable situations, if he is not wise to give priority to the spiritual concerns and is not carried away by the worldly concerns and gains.
5. If one is not true to his call to follow and resemble Jesus, it is only because he is still too much attached to the world and there can be no other reason. “Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me” – this summon of Jesus is ever vibrating and compelling!
6. And the beauty of an authentic follower of Jesus is quite impressively contrasting as in the first reading: the whole world may be so much infected by “bad news”, in the infirmities and wounds of sin and evil and is without peace; but a follower of Jesus becomes the “bearer of good news and announces peace”.
7. St Edith Stein always strove for this divine greatness. Though a brilliant German Jewish philosopher, she converted to Catholicism and became a Carmelite nun. She was killed in the Nazi gas chambers at Auschwitz in 1942.
Practice: It is stupidity to claim to be so intelligent and competent, while one fails to discern and follow what is priority in life, and that is, follow Jesus, the model of real
