Mass Readings For February 15, 2024 – Thursday After Ash Wednesday

Thursday after Ash Wednesday

First Reading – Deuteronomy 30:15-20

Moses said to the people:
“Today I have set before you
life and prosperity, death and doom.
If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin on you today,
loving him, and walking in his ways,
and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,
you will live and grow numerous,
and the LORD, your God,
will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.
If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,
but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,
I tell you now that you will certainly perish;
you will not have a long life
on the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy.
I call heaven and earth today to witness against you:
I have set before you life and death,
the blessing and the curse.
Choose life, then,
that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God,
heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.
For that will mean life for you,
a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD swore
he would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6

R.    (40:5a)  Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Blessed the man who follows not
the counsel of the wicked
Nor walks in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the company of the insolent,
But delights in the law of the LORD
and meditates on his law day and night.
R.    Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
He is like a tree
planted near running water,
That yields its fruit in due season,
and whose leaves never fade.
Whatever he does, prospers.
R.    Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.
Not so the wicked, not so;
they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
For the LORD watches over the way of the just,
but the way of the wicked vanishes.
R.    Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.

 

Vesper Before the Gospel – Matthew 4:17

Repent, says the Lord;
the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

 

Gospel – Luke 9:22-25

Jesus said to his disciples:
“The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected
by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes,
and be killed and on the third day be raised.”

Then he said to all,
“If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself
and take up his cross daily and follow me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.
What profit is there for one to gain the whole world
yet lose or forfeit himself?”

Related Post:
God bless you and your loved ones this Lent. Read my unique Reflection on Romantic Love and Divine Love, delving into the Song of Songs from the Catholic Bible, as Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day fall on the same day. On the surface, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day present a stark contrast—one marks the beginning of Lent’s solemn journey of reflection and penance, while the other celebrates love and affection. Yet, when these days coincide, they offer Catholics a unique opportunity for deeper reflection. This overlap has sparked lively discussions and humorous observations on social media, as Catholics ponder the blending of a day dedicated to romantic expressions with one calling for a somber reminder of our mortality.
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