Thursday after Ash Wednesday.

Invitation

May I draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?

This invitation is intended to share with you the joy
of the Gospel. Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their heart
to the healing power of God’s word.

Available every day.

CONSIDERATION

Both Moses and Jesus (as well as the responsorial psalm) speak of a fundamental choice that every person must make.
One chooses life or death, happiness or destruction. On closer inspection, Jesus’ words penetrate much deeper. First of all, this fundamental choice must be made anew every day. It is never finished. Furthermore, life here has a deeper meaning. It is no longer ‘living happily in the land that was promised to you’. It is about a life that one must give up, lose, and deny every day in order to gain true, authentic life beyond death.

FIRST READING             Deut. 30, 15-20

See, I set before you today life and happiness.

From the Book of Deuteronomy

Moses took the floor and spoke to the people:
“I set before you today life and happiness,
but also death and misfortune.
“If you listen to the commandments of the Lord your God,
which I give you today,
if you love the Lord your God,
walk in his ways and keep his commandments,
and observe his statutes and ordinances,
then you shall live and multiply,
and the Lord your God will bless you
in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
“But if your heart wanders,
if you do not listen and allow yourself to be seduced,
so that you bow down and worship other gods,
then I declare to you today,
that you will perish and not live long
in the land you are about to enter and occupy.
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today.
“I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse.
“Choose life,
and you and your descendants will live,
by loving the Lord your God,
listening to him and remaining attached to him.
“For that is what determines whether you will live
and whether you will dwell long on the land
that the Lord promised to your fathers,
to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, under oath.”

INTERLUDIUM                  Ps. 1, 1-2, 3, 4, 6

Blessed is the man who places his hope in the Lord
(Ps. 40(39), 5a).

Blessed is the man who refuses to do what the wicked advise him;
who does not walk in the ways of sinners,
nor sit in the seat of scoffers.
He is like a tree planted by the water,
which bears fruit in its season;
its leaves do not wither,
and whatever he does prospers.

The wicked are not so:
the wind blows them away like chaff.
For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked comes to nothing.

VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL              Ps. 95(94), 8 ab

Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.

GOSPEL        Lk. 9, 22-25

Whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

From the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christaccording to

At that time, Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Son of Man
must suffer greatly
and be rejected by the elders,
the chief priests and the scribes,
but after being put to death,
he will rise on the third day.”
But he said to all:
“If anyone wishes to come after me,
must follow me by denying himself
and taking up his cross daily.
“For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it.
“But whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
“What good is it for a person to gain the whole world,
if he loses his life?”

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Laudato Si

Encyclical of

POPE FRANCIS

On Care for Our Common Home

33. However, it is not enough to think of the different species merely as “resources” to be exploited, forgetting that they have a value in themselves.
Every year, thousands of plant and animal species disappear that we will never be able to know, that our children will never be able to see, because they have been lost forever. The vast majority die out for reasons related to some human activity.
Through our actions, thousands of species will no longer be able to praise God with their existence, nor will they be able to communicate their message to us. We do not have the right to do this.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am.