The figure of Jesus Christ carrying the cross up Calvary on Good Friday.
1st READING
Paul believes that God works in our minds and hearts and that He conforms the way we think to His own. Afterwards, God’s desires manifest within us as our own desires. Thus, Paul exhorts us to do everything without grumbling or questioning, as it becomes a matter of our salvation and obedience to God’s will. He desires the best for us. We may not always understand His will, but we must always obey Him.
Philippians 2:12-18
12 My beloved, obedient as you have always been, not only when I am present but all the more now when I am absent, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For God is the one who, for his good purpose, works in you both to desire and to work. 14 Do everything without grumbling or questioning, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, 16 as you hold on to the word of life, so that my boast for the day of Christ may be that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 But, even if I am poured out as a libation upon the sacrificial service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with all of you. 18 In the same way you also should rejoice and share your joy with me.
PSALM
Psalm 27:1, 4, 13-14
R: The Lord is my light and my salvation.
1The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? (R) 4 One thing I ask of the Lord; this I seek: To dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, that I may gaze on the loveliness of the Lord and contemplate his temple. (R) 13 I believe that I shall see the bounty of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the Lord. (R)
GOSPEL
Our relationship with God is the most important one we will ever have. Let us prioritize it above all even when a greater urgency seems to be elsewhere. We cannot afford to defer our commitment to daily prayer—we need to be in contact with God for our good. He can survive without us, but we cannot survive without Him.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of God rests upon you.
Luke 14:25-33 25
25 Great crowds were traveling with Jesus, and he turned and addressed them, 26 “If anyone comes to me without hating his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 Which of you wishing to construct a tower does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if there is enough for its completion? 29 Otherwise, after laying the foundation and finding himself unable to finish the work the onlookers should laugh at him 30 and say, ‘This one began to build but did not have the resources to finish.’ 31 Or what king marching into battle would not first sit down and decide whether with ten thousand troops he can successfully oppose another king advancing upon him with twenty thousand troops? 32 But if not, while he is still far away, he will send a delegation to ask for peace terms. 33 In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple.
