Daily Reading for Sunday, February 25th, 2024

Sunday, February 25, 2024
Second Sunday of Lent (B)
V¹ -, V² -, V³ -, R¹ -, R² -, R³ -,
Office- Psalter Week 1
Mass prop. Creed. Preface of Lent II
Vestment: Violet
Today’s Rosary: The Glorious Mystery

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Vespers II of the Second Sunday of Lent

Other celebrations are not allowed, not even funeral Masses.

Theme of the Sunday: FAITH IN GOD AND FAITH IN CHRIST.
It is easy to see why faith is the main theme of the first reading, though it is more difficult to discover this theme in the gospel. Abraham needed faith to follow the road God showed him, and so too does the Christian; to follow Christ. We reach transfiguration by first passing through the way of the cross and by placing ourselves in God’s hands. The second reading speaks of the foundation of our faith: God’s faithful and unconditional love for us.

FIRST READING
“The sacrifice of Abraham, our Father in faith. ”
A reading from the Book of Genesis (Genesis 22: 1-2.9a.10-13.15-18)

In those days: God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Take your son, your only- begotten son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering upon one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” When they came to the place of which God had told him, Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order. Then Abraham put forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven, and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” And he said, “Here am I.” He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only-begotten son, from me.” And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns; and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. And the angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, “By myself I have sworn, says the Lord, because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only-begotten son, I will indeed bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed my voice.”

The word of the Lord.

Also Read: Daily Reading for Saturday, February 24th, 2024

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Ps 116: 10 and 15.16-17.18-19 (R. 9)
R/. I will walk in the presence of the Lord in the land of the living.

I trusted, even when I said,
“I am sorely afflicted.”
How precious in the eyes of the Lord
is the death of his faithful. R/.

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I,
the son of your handmaid;
you have loosened my bonds.
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;
I will call on the name of the Lord. R/.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil
before all his people,
in the courts of the house of the Lord,
in your midst, O Jerusalem. R/.

SECOND READING
God did not spare his own Son.
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans (Romans 8: 31b-34)

Brethren: If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, will he not also give us all things with him? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us?

The word of the Lord.

VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
Glory and praise to you, O Christ. From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard: this is my beloved Son, hear him. Glory and praise to you, O Christ.

GOSPEL
“This is my beloved Son.”
A reading from the Holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 9:2-10)

At that time: Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Elijah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah.” For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” And suddenly looking around they no longer saw any one with them but Jesus only. And as they were coming down the mountain, he charged them to tell no one what they had seen, until the Son of man should have risen from the dead. So they kept the matter to themselves, questioning what the rising from the dead meant.

The Gospel of the Lord.

PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL

Celebrant:
At the transfiguration, the Lord encourages us to seek his face. Let us come now to the Lord with our intentions, with full trust that he will listen to us.

FOR THE CHURCH: that she may be strengthened in her mission to bring Christ into the world through the assiduous preaching of the Good News of salvation. Let us pray to the Lord.

FOR ALL PEOPLES OF THE WORLD: that in all our actions, we may care for the earth, our common home, and do all we can to preserve it for the good of future generations. Let us pray to the Lord.

FOR CHRISTIANS WHO ARE PERSECUTED: that we may devote more time to the study, teaching and practice of the faith so that we may become authentic witnesses in all we do. Let us pray to the Lord.

FOR OUR CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY: that we may devote more time to the study, teaching and practice of the faith so that we may become authentic witnesses in all we do. Let us pray to the Lord.

FOR OTHER INTENTIONS: (the sick, Church projects or other activities).

FOR THE DEAD, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF OUR PARISH COMMUNITY AND FAMILY MEMBERS: that they may find eternal rest with the Lord. Let us pray to the Lord.

We pray in silence for our private intentions.

Celebrant:
Lord, look favourably on the prayers we have expressed before you in faith. By your gracious assistance, may we be pleasing to you in all our ways. Through Christ our Lord.

Amen

TODAY’S REFLECTION
Every year the Gospel reading for the Second Sunday of Lent recounts Jesus’ Transfiguration and someone called this particular Sunday the “Sunday of the three mountains.” We have Abraham on Mount Moriah, the Redeemer Christ on Mount Calvery, and the Transfigured Christ on Mount Tabor. We are invited to climb these mountains during Lent. Mountain climbing is hard but, when we reach the top, we see things in a different way. The air is cleaner, the light is clearer, we come closer to God, and are changed by the effort. Mount Moriah calls us to serve the true God alone. Mount Calvery shows us Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life, and His saving death and Resurrection. Mount Tabor calls us to trust in the glory that awaits us. You may climb any one of these to discover that you have come closer to God and are changed deeply.

PERSONAL DEVOTIONAL FOR LENT
A very pleasant and wonderful morning to you my beloved friend. I hope you had a good night rest. You will definitely have some plans today, I therefore wish you the very best as you carry out your activities. However, as you work remember to find time to rest so that you will be refreshed when the new working week starts.

Let Us Think About This;
The life of a Christian should be different from that of a non-Christian, because the Christian knows Christ and as such he or she should live a life of love which is the hallmark of the Christian life. Surprisingly, many Christians seem not to be making much impact in people in terms of transformation, because our kind of Christianity is after our own mind and not after the mind of Christ.

If my Christian life will be meaningful and impacting, I must look at the example of Jesus on the cross where He died for those who killed Him. That is true and sacrificial love, which is the kind of love Jesus expects us to show to others as we journey in this life. He forgave those who killed Him and we must do the same as His followers.

Now is the time and season to step up our game in terms of being truly Christian in our words and actions so that others who look at us and who are yet to know Christ will be moved and inspired to come to follow Him through our attitude and behaviour.

May God give you the grace to forgive those who hurt you, pay them back with love and pray for those who persecute you. Amen.

Meditation: Deuteronomy 26:16-19 /Psalm 119/ Matthew 5:43-48

Daily Reading for Sunday February 25, 2024

Reading 1, Genesis 22:1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19
Gospel, Mark 9:2-10
Reading 2, Romans 8:31-34

Reading 1, Genesis 22:1-2, 9, 10-13, 15-18

¹ It happened some time later that God put Abraham to the test. ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ he called. ‘Here I am,’ he replied.

² God said, ‘Take your son, your only son, your beloved Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, where you are to offer him as a burnt offering on one of the mountains which I shall point out to you.’

⁹ When they arrived at the place which God had indicated to him, Abraham built an altar there, and arranged the wood. Then he bound his son and put him on the altar on top of the wood.

¹⁰ Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to kill his son.

¹¹ But the angel of Yahweh called to him from heaven. ‘Abraham, Abraham!’ he said. ‘Here I am,’ he replied.

¹² ‘Do not raise your hand against the boy,’ the angel said. ‘Do not harm him, for now I know you fear God. You have not refused me your own beloved son.’

¹³ Then looking up, Abraham saw a ram caught by its horns in a bush. Abraham took the ram and offered it as a burnt offering in place of his son.

¹⁵ The angel of Yahweh called Abraham a second time from heaven.

¹⁶ ‘I swear by my own self, Yahweh declares, that because you have done this, because you have not refused me your own beloved son,

¹⁷ I will shower blessings on you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven and the grains of sand on the seashore. Your descendants will gain possession of the gates of their enemies.

¹⁸ All nations on earth will bless themselves by your descendants, because you have obeyed my command.’

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 116:10, 15, 16-17, 18-19

¹⁰ for you will not abandon me to Sheol, you cannot allow your faithful servant to see the abyss.

¹⁵ Costly in Yahweh’s sight is the death of his faithful.

¹⁶ I beg you, Yahweh! I am your servant, I am your servant and my mother was your servant; you have undone my fetters.

¹⁷ I shall offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of Yahweh.

¹⁸ I shall fulfil my vows to Yahweh, witnessed by all his people,

¹⁹ in the courts of the house of Yahweh, in your very heart, Jerusalem.

Gospel, Mark 9:2-10

² Six days later, Jesus took with him Peter and James and John and led them up a high mountain on their own by themselves. There in their presence he was transfigured:

³ his clothes became brilliantly white, whiter than any earthly bleacher could make them.

⁴ Elijah appeared to them with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus.

⁵ Then Peter spoke to Jesus, ‘Rabbi,’ he said, ‘it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three shelters, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’

⁶ He did not know what to say; they were so frightened.

⁷ And a cloud came, covering them in shadow; and from the cloud there came a voice, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’

⁸ Then suddenly, when they looked round, they saw no one with them any more but only Jesus.

⁹ As they were coming down from the mountain he warned them to tell no one what they had seen, until after the Son of man had risen from the dead.

¹⁰ They observed the warning faithfully, though among themselves they discussed what ‘rising from the dead’ could mean.

Reading 2, Romans 8:31-34

³¹ After saying this, what can we add? If God is for us, who can be against us?

³² Since he did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for the sake of all of us, then can we not expect that with him he will freely give us all his gifts?

³³ Who can bring any accusation against those that God has chosen? When God grants saving justice

³⁴ who can condemn? Are we not sure that it is Christ Jesus, who died — yes and more, who was raised from the dead and is at God’s right hand — and who is adding his plea for us?