Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection February 21, 2025

21st February 2025 (Friday)

Psalter: Week 2

Readings of the Day

First Reading: Genesis 11:1-9

The whole world spoke the same language, using the same words. While the people were migrating in the east, they came upon a valley in the land of Shinar and settled there. They said to one another, “Come, let us mold bricks and harden them with fire.” They used bricks for stone, and bitumen for mortar. Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the sky, and so make a name for ourselves; otherwise we shall be scattered all over the earth.” The LORD came down to see the city and the tower that they had built. Then the LORD said: “If now, while they are one people, all speaking the same language, they have started to do this, nothing will later stop them from doing whatever they presume to do. Let us then go down and there confuse their language, so that one will not understand what another says.” Thus the LORD scattered them from there all over the earth, and they stopped building the city. That is why it was called Babel, because there the LORD confused the speech of all the world. It was from that place that he scattered them all over the earth.

Psalm 33:10-11, 12-13, 14-15 (R. 12)

R/. Blessed the people the Lord has chosen to be his own.

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Alleluia

R/. Alleluia

V/. I call you my friends, says the Lord, for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.

R/. Alleluia.

Gospel: Mark 8:34-9:1

Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life? Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.” He also said to them, “Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.”

Daily Gospel Reflection

Friday – 6th Week in Ordinary Time

Main Point: Many desire many things in life. But how many desire to follow the Lord? If some want to follow him, they must also know what the conditions are. Mere wish is not enough

In life, many good things do not happen because people do not put their intention into action. We often have the best of intentions, words, promises, and decisions but not actions. It is because they limit themselves to mere wishful thinking but not implementing what they wish.

So today the Lord is drawing our attention to this fact of life. He is speaking about discipleship. He clarifies, “Whoever wishes to come after me, must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me”. Therefore mere wishing is not enough. It must follow the required course of action. It must fulfill certain conditions.

Now the Lord lays down three essential conditions to be his disciple. Deny one’s own self, Take up one’s own cross, and Follow the Lord. All these are mutually inclusive. The following of one condition faithfully implies that of the other two as well. Therefore one cannot say, “I follow one and the others, No”.

To deny self is to restrain and overcome our ego, and egoistic interests. It is to constantly purify and rise above our selfish inclinations. In a world where life is becoming more and more self-centred, where ego has become the centre and norm of everything, we need to set aside our ego. This also calls for a deep spirit of detachment and self-sacrifice.

Taking up one’s own cross is the second condition. Each has his own crosses in life. These crosses can be varied. They are the difficulties, problems, and sufferings that we come across. In every cross, there is a sense of burden, struggle, and pain. We need to realise that no one is exempted from crosses.

So, first, we need realism to see the crosses as part of life and all the more as part of discipleship. We need to accept them. We need the spirit of courage and determination to struggle to overcome them when it is possible. And we need patience, forbearance, and perseverance when they are not under our control.

Finally, follow the Lord. Follow him not only where it is convenient but always and everywhere. We need to follow him especially when it is a matter of standing firm and bearing witness to him. It is a matter of practicing his virtues and values, his approach, and ways of action.

All this needs focus and wisdom. We need the wisdom to discern that following the Lord, and gaining one’s soul for eternal life is more important than gaining the whole world. This makes us focused on the Lord and committed to following him.

The people in the first reading who started to construct the tower of Babel lacked this wisdom and focus. They were foolish, worldly, and focused on self-glory. Hence, God thwarts their earthly designs.

My Practice: Many in the world suffer from short-sight and short-term goals. They do not go beyond the self and the world. Their whole life is spent boosting up the self and pleasing the world. They are lost!