Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection August 08, 2025

08th August 2025 (Friday)

Psalter: Week 2

Readings of the Day

First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:32-40

Moses spoke to the people, saying “Ask now of the days that are past, which were before you, since the day that God created man on the earth, and ask from one end of heaven to the other, whether such a great thing as this has ever happened or was ever heard of. Did any people ever hear the voice of a god speaking out of the midst of the fire, as you have heard, and still live? Or has any god ever attempted to go and take a nation for himself from the midst of another nation, by trials, by signs, by wonders, and by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, and by great deeds of terror, all of which the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord is God; there is no other besides him. Out of heaven he let you hear his voice, that he might discipline you. And on earth he let you see his great fire, and you heard his words out of the midst of the fire. And because he loved your fathers and chose their offspring after them and brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power, driving out before you nations greater and mightier than you, to bring you in, to give you their land for an inheritance, as it is this day, know therefore today, and lay it to your heart, that the Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other. Therefore you shall keep his statutes and his commandments, which I command you today, that it may go well with you and with your children after you, and that you may prolong your days in the land that the Lord your God is giving you for all time.”

Psalm 77:12-13, 14-15, 16 and 21 (R. 12a)

R/. I remember the deeds of the Lord.

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Alleluia

R/. Alleluia

V/. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

R/. Alleluia

Gospel: Matthew 16:24-28

At the time: Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Daily Gospel Reflection

Friday – 18th Week in Ordinary Time

Main Point: To follow Christ is not merely a matter of allegiance by some label and profession. It is a matter of clear conviction and lifelong commitment

1. Following Jesus is not a matter of convenience and comfort, profit and use. It is an inseparable covenant and immeasurable commitment. It makes no room for compromises. It calls for total kenosis, forbearance, and unflinching zeal. It is loyalty to the crucified Saviour, carrying our crosses.

2. In the first place, following Jesus demands wholehearted self-denial, a total giving up of the ego. One who clings to self-interests, is driven by egoism, and is not ready to retrench all the ties and attachments to the layers of the false self, cannot be a true follower of Christ.

3. This process of effacement and detachment necessarily involves suffering and obstacles. The weight of the cross of right values and afflictions will certainly press us down time and again. Like Jesus, we too may experience the “lost and abandoned” moments in our life.

4. But the choice is clear and firm. It is an uncompromising choice for following the Lord and not the world. This choice is made because of wisdom. This is the wisdom that discerns between “gaining the whole world but losing one’s own soul on one hand, and gaining the priceless soul and losing the world on the other hand”.

5. Come what may, there is no turning back. However, it is not a futile enterprise. It is not a worthless choice and project. For, “whoever loses his life for the sake of the Lord will find it”; “the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done”.

6. Thus, following Jesus is worth and fulfilling,A though it may appear to be absurd. It shows our love for him, loyalty, and commitment to him. And there can never be a true following of Jesus without renouncing the ego and carrying the cross patiently.

My Practice: It is foolish that some followers of Jesus wish and try to follow him without carrying the cross. Without a way of sacrifice, and perseverance that is smeared with love for the Lord, how can one follow him and arrive at the destiny of the glory of the resurrection?