DAILY READINGS & REFLECTION
MARCH 3, 2025
MONDAY OF THE EIGHTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
(OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF SAINT KATHARINE DREXEL, VIRGIN [IN THE DIOCESES OF THE UNITED STATES])
FIRST READING
20Their iniquities are not hidden from him, and all their sins are before the Lord. 22A man's almsgiving is like a signet with the Lord and he will keep a person's kindness like the apple of his eye. 23Afterward he will arise and requite them, and he will bring their recompense on their heads. 24Yet to those who repent he grants a return, and he encourages those whose endurance is failing.
The Word of the Lord
_
RESPONSORIAL PSALM
PSALMS 31(32):1-2, 5-7
Response: Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord.
Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
R. Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord.
I acknowledged my sin to thee,
and I did not hide my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my trangressions to the LORD”;
then thou didst forgive the guilt of my sin.
R. Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord.
Therefore let every one who is godly
offer prayer to thee;
at a time of distress, in the rush of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
R. Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord.
Thou art a hiding place for me,
thou preservest me from trouble;
thou dost encompass me with deliverance.
R. Let the just exult and rejoice in the Lord.
_
GOSPEL
Give - and you will have treasure in heaven
MARK 10:17-27
17 And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him, and asked him, "Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. 19 You know the commandments: `Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.'" 20 And he said to him, "Teacher, all these I have observed from my youth." 21 And Jesus looking upon him loved him, and said to him, "You lack one thing; go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." 22 At that saying his countenance fell, and he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions.
23 And Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it will be for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God!" 24 And the disciples were amazed at his words. But Jesus said to them again, "Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! 25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." 26 And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, "Then who can be saved?" 27 Jesus looked at them and said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God."
The Gospel of the Lord
_
REFLECTION
DAILY QUOTE FROM THE EARLY CHURCH FATHERS
Seek the life that endures, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"The Lord said to a certain young man, 'If you would enter life, keep the commandments' (Matthew 19:17; Mark 10:17; Luke 18:18). He did not say 'If you would have life' but 'If you would enter life,' defining that life as eternal life. Let us first consider then the love of this life. For this life is loved, whatever its quality; and however troubled it is, however wretched, people are afraid to end it. Hence we should see, we should consider, how much eternal life is to be loved, when this miserable life that must at some time be ended is so loved. Consider, brothers, how much that life is to be loved when it is a life you never end. You love this life, where you work so much, run, are busy, pant. In this busy life the obligations can scarcely be counted: sowing, plowing, working new land, sailing, grinding, cooking, weaving. And after all this hard work your life comes to an end. Look at what you suffer in this wretched life that you so love. And do you think that you will always live and never die? Temples, rocks, marbles, all reinforced by iron and lead, still fall. And a person thinks that he will never die? Learn therefore, brothers, to seek eternal life, when you will not endure these things but will reign with God forever."
(excerpt from SERMON 84.1.9)
_
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)
The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1965, 1966 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.