Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection September 26, 2025

26th September 2025 (Friday)

Psalter: Week 1

Readings of the Day

First Reading: Haggai 2:1-9

In the second year of Darius the king, in the seventh month, on the twenty-first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet: “Speak now to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and to all the remnant of the people, and say, ‘Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory? How do you see it now? Is it not as nothing in your eyes? Yet now be strong, O Zerubbabel, declares the Lord. Be strong, O Joshua, son of Jehozadak, the high priest. Be strong, all you people of the land, declares the Lord. Work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts, according to the covenant that I made with you when you came out of Egypt. My Spirit remains in your midst. Fear not. For thus says the Lord of hosts: Yet once more, in a little while, I will shake the heavens and the earth and the sea and the dry land. And I will shake all nations, so that the treasures of all nations shall come in, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, declares the Lord of hosts. The latter glory of this house shall be greater than the former, says the Lord of hosts. And in this place I will give peace, declares the Lord of hosts.’”

Psalm 43:1, 2, 3, 4 R.(5)

R/. Hope in God; I will praise him yet again, my saving presence and my God

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Alleluia

R/. Alleluia

V/. The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as as ransom for many.

R/. Alleluia

Gospel: Luke 9:18-22

Now it happened that as he was praying alone, the disciples were with him. And he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist. But others say, Elijah, and others, that one of the prophets of old has risen.” Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” And Peter answered, “The Christ of God.” And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”

Daily Gospel Reflection

Friday – 25th Week in Ordinary Time

Main Point: When we personally experience the Lord, then it will express itself in words and concrete actions. Expressions without experience will only be shallow

1. Today we live in a world of a sea of words. Politicians and other leaders make a lot of promises and speak in big bundles of words. The art of communication assumes so much importance in all fields, be it in education or business or religion or culture.

2. Certainly, words matter a lot. But the problem is often these words are often not seen in action. That is why we find empty promises, shallow words without the depth of heart, and best theories without minimum practice.

3. The same problem creeps into the practice of spirituality as well. There can be heaps of prayers without really living their spirit. There can be clusters of religious activities without fraternal service. There can be bundles of knowledge without corresponding acts of charity. This is where the practice of religion and spirituality becomes shallow.

4. All this is because of the lack of a deeply personal experience of God. The two questions of Jesus in the gospel indicate this tension between expression and experience. The first question is: Who do people say I am? The second question is: Who do you say I am?

5. What others say, what we learn and know from other sources, helps us to a certain extent. But that is one level. We need to rise to the next level of a profound experience of intimacy with the Lord. What we gather from others’ experience, however genuine and deep it may be, will always remain others’.

6. The various sources of knowledge should only be supplements and complements and not substitutes for our personal experience and relationship with Jesus. All our loud proclamations, eloquent preaching should spring from genuine and profound communion with God.

7. Often, our prayers and conventions run the danger of being superficial and mechanical because of the lack of this personal touch. The “art” of communication substitutes the “heart” of communication. The “fire” of proclamation substitutes the “flames” of good conduct.

8. The declaration of Peter that Jesus is the Christ comes from his openness to God’s revelation. It is also rooted in his personal experience with Jesus. That is why it is authentic and profound.

9. What is this personal experience? What are its ingredients? Some of them are indicated in the first reading from Haggai 1. 15 – 2.9. It is to trust totally in God’s promises, in the power of His love, in His abiding presence. It takes courage and places our hope in God’s providential designs even in hopeless situations.

10. See what God promises: “Take courage, for I am with you…My Spirit abides in you; fear not; I will shake everything and I will fill this house with splendour… The latter splendour of this house shall be greater than the former… I will give prosperity”

My Practice: “Who do you say I am?” is a personal question of the Lord directed to each one of us in the depths of our hearts. It is not a matter of saying who is, but saying who he is to me personally. It expresses my deep experience