Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection March 18, 2025
Tuesday Second Week of Lent
18th March 2025 (Tuesday)
Psalter: Week 2
Readings of the Day
First Reading: Isaiah 1:10, 16-20
Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah! Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool. If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land; But if you refuse and resist, the sword shall consume you: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!
Psalm 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23 (R. 23b)
R/. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
Gospel Acclamation
V/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.
R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.
V/. Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.
Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses. Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens hard to carry and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them. All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. They love places of honour at banquets, seats of honour in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘Rabbi.’ As for you, do not be called ‘Rabbi.’ You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘Master’; you have but one master, the Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Daily Gospel Reflection
Tuesday – Second Week of Lent
Main Point: God is so merciful that He does not abandon us or condemn us in our sin. Rather He is so lenient and waits upon us to repent and renew our lives
God never ceases to call us for repentance and renewal. All the more during this holy season of lent, this call is strong and straight. Thus we hear in the first reading from Isaiah, saying, “Hear the word of the Lord… Give ear to the teaching of our God! Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean”.
Now what does this mean ? We need to remove the evil of our deeds from before His eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.
In the light of the gospel, this repentance and renewal would mean removing all the traces of hypocrisy. Jesus cautions us against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and scribes. Its forms are manifold: Preaching but not practicing; demanding too much from others but doing very little themselves; making a show to impress others and not out of genuine conviction or devotion; seeking recognition and honour.
The greatest antidote is humility, for “the greatest among you shall be your servant”. In simple details, it is to have the mind of a disciple and learner and not a teacher or rabbi; it is to be a brother to others and not to be revered as a father, for we all have only one Father; it is to be an instructee under the one instructor, the Christ, and not projecting oneself as a great instructor.
If one cultivates this humility and renews life, then the fruits are enormously great: the Lord will completely wipe away all the stains and weight of sin. The Lord himself assures: even though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
This means that the Lord will thoroughly cleanse us and make us pure. Further, if you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; you shall be exalted to the heights, for “whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted”.
My Practice: Let us be aware that pride and hypocrisy are two biggest blocks against repentance and renewal. Let us then cultivate the spirit of humility and of a servant
