GOSPEL POWER | FEBRUARY 18, 2021

THURSDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY

Gospel: MT 9: 22- 25

Jesus said, “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Then he said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will save it. What does it profit them if they gain the whole world, but lose or forfeit themselves?”

REFLECTION

The cross of Christ entails suffering, yes, but first and foremost, it is an emblem of victory. Christ’s death on the cross is the greatest act of divine reversal. God turned weakness and vulnerability into a revelation of the greatest of all powers — his love’s power to save us from the damnation of sin. Whenever we accept Jesus’ invitation to take up our cross daily and follow him, we participate in his victory. For in welcoming the necessary suffering that the cross entails, we triumph over our egoism and reveal the power of salvation at work in our own life.

PRAYER

Lord Jesus, let our egoism be crucified with you, so that our selfish tendencies may die and God may reign supreme in our life. Amen.