Daily Mass Readings For Friday, January 17, 2025
Memorial of Saint Anthony, Abbot
Reading I:
Hebrews 4:1-5, 11
Alleluia:
Luke 7:16
Gospel:
Mark 2:1-12
Liturgical vestments: White
Memorial
Friday, January 17, 2025: Readings & Responsorial Psalm & Gospel
Each day, the Mass readings invite us into a deeper encounter with God. Through Scripture, we hear His voice speaking to our hearts, guiding us, comforting us, and calling us to a life of holiness. The Word of God is not just a story from the past; it is alive, relevant, and transformative.
Every reading is an opportunity for grace. Some days, the words challenge us to grow; other days, they console us in our struggles. But always, they nourish our souls, strengthening our faith and drawing us closer to Christ.
Let us open our hearts to the Word of God daily. May we not just hear it but live it, allowing it to shape our actions and deepen our love for Him. Lord, speak to us today, and help us to follow You more faithfully. Amen.
Reading I
Hebrews 4:1-5, 11
Let us be on our guard
while the promise of entering into his rest remains,
that none of you seem to have failed.
For in fact we have received the Good News just as our ancestors did.
But the word that they heard did not profit them,
for they were not united in faith with those who listened.
For we who believed enter into that rest,
just as he has said:
As I swore in my wrath,
“They shall not enter into my rest,”
and yet his works were accomplished
at the foundation of the world.
For he has spoken somewhere about the seventh day in this manner,
And God rested on the seventh day from all his works;
and again, in the previously mentioned place,
They shall not enter into my rest.
Therefore, let us strive to enter into that rest,
so that no one may fall after the same example of disobedience.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
A great prophet has arisen in our midst
and God has visited his people.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
When Jesus returned to Capernaum after some days,
it became known that he was at home.
Many gathered together so that there was no longer room for them,
not even around the door,
and he preached the word to them.
They came bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men.
Unable to get near Jesus because of the crowd,
they opened up the roof above him.
After they had broken through,
they let down the mat on which the paralytic was lying.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to him,
“Child, your sins are forgiven.”
Now some of the scribes were sitting there asking themselves,
“Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming.
Who but God alone can forgive sins?”
Jesus immediately knew in his mind what
they were thinking to themselves,
so he said, “Why are you thinking such things in your hearts?
Which is easier, to say to the paralytic,
‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise, pick up your mat and walk’?
But that you may know
that the Son of Man has authority to forgive sins on earth”
–he said to the paralytic,
“I say to you, rise, pick up your mat, and go home.”
He rose, picked up his mat at once,
and went away in the sight of everyone.
They were all astounded
and glorified God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this.”
Reflection
“By remitting sins, He did indeed heal man, while He also manifested Himself who He was. He was Himself the Word of God made the Son of man, receiving from the Father the power of remission of sins. Since as man He suffered for us, so as God He might have compassion on us, and forgive us our debts.” (Saint Irenaeus)
“The Gospel presents Christ who triumphs over the paralysis of humanity. It portrays the power of divine mercy which forgives and wipes away every sin when it encounters authentic faith. Christ’s command ‘Rise and walk!’ can reverse the situation.” (Francis)
“The Lord Jesus Christ, physician of our souls and bodies, who forgave the sins of the paralytic and restored him to bodily health, has willed that his Church continue, in the power of the Holy Spirit, his work of healing and salvation, even among her own members. This is the purpose of the two sacraments of healing: the sacrament of Penance and the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick.” (Catechism Of The Catholic Church, Nº1421)
Jesus opens his arms to sinners. How many people even today persist in an ill-chosen life because they have found no one willing to look at them in a different way, with the eyes, or better, with the heart of God, that is, to look at them with hope. Jesus instead sees a possibility for resurrection even in those who have amassed many mistaken choices. Jesus is always there, with an open heart; he throws open that mercy that he has in his heart; he forgives, embraces, understands and draws near: that is how Jesus is!
At times we forget that for Jesus it is not a matter of easy, low-cost love. The Gospels reveal the first negative reactions toward Jesus precisely when he forgives a man’s sins (cf. Mk 2:1-12). It is a man who is suffering doubly: because he cannot walk and because he feels “inadequate”. And Jesus understands that the second pain is greater than the first, to the extent that He greets him immediately with a message of liberation: “My son, your sins are forgiven” (v. 5). He frees that oppressive sense of feeling inadequate. (…) We who are accustomed to experiencing the forgiveness of sins, perhaps at too “low” a “cost”, must at times remind ourselves of how high a price God’s love for us has cost. Each of us has cost a great deal: Jesus’ life! (General Audience, 9 August 2017)
Saint of the Day
Father of monasticism, protector of animals and model of Christian life. Saint Anthony was born in Coma in Egypt, c. AD 250. He is one of the greatest hermits in the history of the Church. His liturgical memorial occurs on 17 January.
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