Daily Mass Readings For Thursday, March 27, 2025
Thursday of the Third Week of Lent
Reading 1 :
Jeremiah 7:23-28
Verse Before the Gospel :
Joel 2:12-13
Gospel :
Luke 11:14-23
Liturgical vestments: Purple
Thursday, March 27, 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 1
Jeremiah 7:23-28
Thus says the LORD:
This is what I commanded my people:
Listen to my voice;
then I will be your God and you shall be my people.
Walk in all the ways that I command you,
so that you may prosper.
But they obeyed not, nor did they pay heed.
They walked in the hardness of their evil hearts
and turned their backs, not their faces, to me.
From the day that your fathers left the land of Egypt even to this day,
I have sent you untiringly all my servants the prophets.
Yet they have not obeyed me nor paid heed;
they have stiffened their necks and done worse than their fathers.
When you speak all these words to them,
they will not listen to you either;
when you call to them, they will not answer you.
Say to them:
This is the nation that does not listen
to the voice of the LORD, its God,
or take correction.
Faithfulness has disappeared;
the word itself is banished from their speech.
Verse Before the Gospel
Joel 2:12-13
Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
for I am gracious and merciful.
Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute,
and when the demon had gone out,
the mute man spoke and the crowds were amazed.
Some of them said, "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons,
he drives out demons."
Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.
But he knew their thoughts and said to them,
"Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste
and house will fall against house.
And if Satan is divided against himself,
how will his kingdom stand?
For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.
If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul,
by whom do your own people drive them out?
Therefore they will be your judges.
But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons,
then the Kingdom of God has come upon you.
When a strong man fully armed guards his palace,
his possessions are safe.
But when one stronger than he attacks and overcomes him,
he takes away the armor on which he relied
and distributes the spoils.
Whoever is not with me is against me,
and whoever does not gather with me scatters."
Reflection
“Let the souls of the faithful examine themselves and judge the innermost affections of their hearts with true discernment, and, if they find anything planted in their consciences from the fruits of charity, they need not doubt that God is within them.” (Saint Leo the Great)
“Either you are on the path of love, or you are on the path of hypocrisy. Either you let yourself be loved by the mercy of God, or you do what you want, according to your heart which grows harder, each time, on this path. Either you’re holy or you take the other path. Whoever ‘doesn’t gather’ with the Lord, scatters. He/she is a corruptor, one who corrupts.” (Francis)
“The finger. ‘It is by the finger of God that [Jesus] cast out demons’ (Lk 11:20). If God's law was written on tablets of stone ‘by the finger of God,’ then the "letter from Christ" entrusted to the care of the apostles, is written ‘with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts’ (…).” (Catechism Of The Catholic Church, Nº 700)
And we can ask ourselves this question: ‘Do I watch over myself, over my heart, over my feelings, over my thoughts? Do I guard the treasure of grace? Do I guard the indwelling of the Holy Spirit within me? Or do I leave it as it is, safe, do I think it‘s all right?’ But if you don’t guard it, someone stronger will come along. But if one stronger than he comes along and overcomes him, he snatches away the weapons in which he trusted and divides the spoils. Vigilance! But, three criteria, eh! Do not confuse the truth. Jesus fights against the devil: this is the first criterion. The second criterion: He who is not with Jesus is against Jesus. There are no half-hearted attitudes. The third criterion: Vigilance in our heart, because the devil is cunning. He is never cast out forever! He will be definitively cast out only on the last day. [...] Let us ask the Lord for the grace to take these things seriously. He came to fight for our salvation. He has overcome the devil! Please, let us not do business with the devil! He seeks to come home, to take possession of us... Do not relativise, be vigilant! And always with Jesus! (Santa Marta, 11 October 2013)
Saint of the Day
Born of a noble family, St. Rupert travelled to Bavaria at the end of the 7th century as an itinerant monk. He founded a monastery near the ancient Roman city of Juvavum. Rupert gave the city the name Salzburg and became its first Bishop. He died March 27, Easter Sunday, around the year 710.
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