FRIDAY OF WEEK 18 IN ORDINARY TIME - 2025

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

Happy those who are persecuted
in the cause of right,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. MT 5:10

DEUTERONOMY 4:32-40

My Soul's Beloved,

You, O Lord, are the Eternal Word of the Father, the only and irrevocable Word of God, who is, was, and ever shall be. You are the Word alive and ablaze with the love of the Father and the perfect expression of all that God is. You are the God breathed Word that issued forth by His Breath, the Holy Spirit, and became visible and tangible when You came into the world, clothed in Flesh. You took on a Body from the womb of the Virgin Mother, and this Body was offered to the Father in atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world. 

While all that the people of God witnessed in the wilderness was absolutely wondrous, it pales in comparison with how God, in You, my Lord, comes to us and remains with us in the Holy Eucharist. Sadly, Lord, just like the Israelites in exile who witnessed such mighty signs and wonders and just as easily forgot at the first signs of hardship and began to whine, grumble, and complain, we too allow familiarity to blunt our senses. The initial wonder and awe begin to fade. We take the great gifts we receive for granted, and we fail to give thanks always for God's humble condescension to us, His lowly, unworthy creatures.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, grant us this grace to never take for granted what God so graciously gives us, His only Son, to be our food and drink so we may have life and have it in abundance.

Moses said to the people: ‘Put this question to the ages that are past, that went before you, from the time God created man on earth: Was there ever a word so majestic, from one end of heaven to the other? Was anything ever heard? Did ever a people hear the voice of the living God speaking from the heart of the fire, as you heard it, and remain alive? Has any god ventured to take to himself one nation from the midst of another by ordeals, signs, wonders, war with mighty hand and outstretched arm, by fearsome terrors – all this that the Lord your God did for you before your eyes in Egypt?
‘This he showed you so that you might know that the Lord is God indeed and that there is no other. He let you hear his voice out of heaven for your instruction; on earth he let you see his great fire, and from the heart of the fire you heard his word. Because he loved your fathers and chose their descendants after them, he brought you out from Egypt, openly showing his presence and his great power, driving out in front of you nations greater and more powerful than yourself, and brought you into their land to give it you for your heritage, as it is still today.
‘Understand this today, therefore, and take it to heart: the Lord is God indeed, in heaven above as on earth beneath, he and no other. Keep his laws and commandments as I give them to you today, so that you and your children may prosper and live long in the land that the Lord your God gives you for ever.’

PSALM  76(77):12-16,21

I remember the deeds of the Lord.

I remember the deeds of the Lord,
I remember your wonders of old,
I muse on all your works
and ponder your mighty deeds.

I remember the deeds of the Lord.

Your ways, O God, are holy.
What god is great as our God?
You are the God who works wonders.
You showed your power among the peoples.

I remember the deeds of the Lord.

Your strong arm redeemed your people,
the sons of Jacob and Joseph.
You guided your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

I remember the deeds of the Lord.

MATTHEW 16:24-28