Catholic Daily Reading + Reflection: 28 February 2021 – Faith In God And Faith In Christ

Mass Readings for Sunday, February 28, 2021

Second Week of Lent
Office- Psalter Week 1
Vestment: Violet
Today’s Rosary: The Glorious Mystery
Vespers II of the Second Sunday of Lent
Other celebrations are not allowed, not even funeral Masses.

St John of God

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.

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

God did not spare his own Son

PRIEST: God our Father did not spare his own Son, but gave him up so that we would be saved. We pray to him for a deeper understanding of suffering in our lives.

READER:
For the Church in her times of trial, (pause) let her be sustained in every difficulty, knowing that God will not test her strength more than she is able to bear, and let her continue to proclaim the Gospel in the face of bitter persecution and hostility. (pause) Lord, hear us, in all our trials and difficulties we pray Oh Lord.

For the leaders of our country, (pause) let them uphold the Christian way of life and withstand the onslaughts of those who reject Christ and the Gospel he preached (pause) Lord, hear us, in all our trials and difficulties we pray Oh Lord.

For the Church of silence, (pause) let all who suffer persecution in the name, and for the sake of Christ, be supported by God’s grace and our prayers and good works for them. (pause) Lord, hear us, in all our trials and difficulties we pray Oh Lord.

For those who are ill, bereaved, or who suffer in our community, (pause) let them understand that God, in making them one with the suffering Christ, will deliver them from their sorrow. (pause) Lord, hear us, in all our trials and difficulties we pray Oh Lord.

We pray in silence for our own intentions.

PRIEST: Father, we are encouraged by the obedience of Abraham, our father in faith. May the light of Jesus’ transfiguration shine through our time of trial and strengthen our faith.

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.

Today’s Saint and quote: St John of God – March 8th

– A saint who was once committed to a mental hospital? St John of God’s story will fascinate you, while his service for the sick and poor will inspire you.

– Love the poor tenderly, regarding them as your masters and yourselves as their servants.

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