Gospel: March 11, 2025
March 11, 2025 (Tuesday)
1st Week of Lent
Psalter: Week 1 / (Violet)
Ps 34:4-5, 6-7, 16-17, 18-19
From all their distress God rescues me.
1st Reading: Isaiah 55:10-11
As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return till they have watered the earth, making it yield seed for the sower and food for others to eat, so is my word that goes forth out of my mouth: it will not return to me idle, but it shall accomplish my will, the purpose for which it has been sent.
Gospel: Matthew 6:7-15
When you pray, do not use a lot of words, as the pagans do; for they believe that, the more they say, the more chance they have of being heard. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need, even before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, holy be your name, your kingdom, come, your will, be done on earth, as in heaven. Give us today, our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we forgive those who are in debt to us. Do not bring us to the test, but deliver us from the evil one. If you forgive others their wrongdoings, your Father in heaven will also forgive yours. If you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive you.
Reflection:
“The Lord’s Prayer is a precious gift.”
Isaiah tells us that God’s word is never ineffective, just like the rain falling on the land. He commanded and creation came into being. He keeps on speaking his word of love and all things continue to exist. And yet, human beings, the summit of his creation, wavered in their response, and ignored the God who made them. And so, God’s creative, loving word became flesh to restore the covenant that had been broken, so that the relationship wounded by sin might be healed by God’s own self-giving sacrifice. Jesus, the Word, now gives a word to his disciples. He taught them how to reply to God’s eternal word of love. He taught them to pray to God as Father, to reply to their Creator each day with a word of love, repentance and trust, so that their relationship with him would deepen. The Lord’s Prayer is a precious gift, a word to give back to God in praise. However, our frequent recitation of the Lord’s Prayer might have led to us to become oblivious to its importance or distracted in saying it. Let’ reflect upon what we are praying and give back to God a word of love.
