Liturgical Readings for : Saturday, 24th February, 2024
Saturday of the First Week of Lent
Jesus’ message of holiness which he preached and modelled is for all his disciples to follow.
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of Deuteronomy 26:16-19
You will be a people consecrated to the Lord, as he promised.
Moses said to the people:
‘The Lord your God today commands you to observe these laws and customs;
you must keep and observe them with all your heart and with all your soul.
‘You have today made this declaration about the Lord; that he will be your God, but only if you follow his ways, keep his statutes, his commandments, his ordinances, and listen to his voice.
And the Lord has today made this declaration about you: that you will be his very own people as he promised you, but only if you keep all his commandments; then for praise and renown and honour he will set you high above all the nations he has made, and you will be a people consecrated to the Lord, as he promised.’
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 118
Response They are happy who follow God’s law.
1. They are happy whose life is blameless, who follow God’s law!
They are happy those who do his will, seeking him with all their hearts. Response
2. You have laid down your precepts to be obeyed with care.
May my footsteps be firm to obey your statutes. Response
3. I will thank you with an upright heart as I learn your decrees.
I will obey your statutes; do not forsake me. Response
Gospel Acclamation Lk 8:1
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Blessed are those who, with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Or 2Cor 6:2
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Now is the favourable time; this is the day of salvation.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 5:43-48 Glory to you, O Lord
You must be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Jesus said to his disciples:
‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and hate your enemy.
But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike.
‘For if you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not?
‘You must therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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Gospel Reflection Saturday, First Week of Lent Matthew 5:43-48
When we say of someone that they are a perfectionist, we probably mean that they like everything to be just right. It is a complement, but it can also imply a slight criticism. We sometimes think of perfectionists as people who can be intolerant of those who don’t measure up to their high standards. We can be slightly anxious around them. However, when Jesus says in the gospel reading that ‘your heavenly Father is perfect’, it is not with a view to making us anxious. On the contrary, to say God is perfect is to say that God is perfect in love. God loves us with a complete love, regardless of what we have done or failed to do. As Jesus says in the gospel reading, ‘he causes his sun to rise on bad people as well as good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest people alike’. When the sun shines here in our parish, it shines on everyone, and when the rain falls it falls on everyone. The sun and the rain do not discriminate. Likewise, God’s love does not discriminate; it embraces all humanity.
There is no more or less in God’s love, because as Saint John says in one of his letters, ‘God is love’. God loved us into life at our birth; God’s love sustains us during our earthly lives; God will love us into eternal life at the end of our earthly lives. God’s gracious love is pure gift; it does not have to be earned or deserved. It is not a reward for a good life. Rather, a good life flows from knowing in our hearts that we are loved unconditionally by God. If we open our hearts to God’s love, if we allow God to love us unconditionally, then we will begin to reflect something of God’s love to others. We will begin to love others in the same indiscriminate way that God loves us. We might even find ourselves loving those who have persecuted or harmed us in some way. At the very least, we might find ourselves praying for the grace to love them. When Jesus calls on us to be perfect as God is perfect, he is calling on us to be loving as God is loving. However, before we can love others as God loves them, we must first allow ourselves to be embraced by God’s perfect love.
The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
