Daily Mass Readings for March 23, 2025: Gospel — Lc 13,1-9

¹ Now Moses was shepherding the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to the mountain of God, to Horeb. ² The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire from within a bush. He looked, and the bush was ablaze with fire, but it was not being consumed! ³ So Moses thought, “I will turn aside to see this amazing sight. Why does the bush not burn up?” ⁴ When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to look, God called to him from within the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And Moses said, “Here I am.” ⁵ God said, “Do not approach any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” ⁶ He added, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Then Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God. ⁷ The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt. I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows. ⁸ I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from that land to a land that is both good and spacious, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the region of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites. 1 3 :¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Set apart to me every firstborn male—the first offspring of every womb among the Israelites, whether human or animal; it is mine.” ³ Moses said to the people, “Remember this day on which you came out from Egypt, from the place where you were enslaved, for the Lord brought you out of there with a mighty hand—and no bread made with yeast may be eaten. ⁴ On this day, in the month of Abib, you are going out. ⁵ “When the Lord brings you to the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, then you will keep this ceremony in this month. ⁶ For seven days you must eat bread made without yeast, and on the seventh day there is to be a festival to the Lord. ⁷ Bread made without yeast must be eaten for seven days; no bread made with yeast shall be seen among you, and you must have no yeast among you within any of your borders. ⁸ “You are to tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the Lord did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ⁹ It will be a sign for you on your hand and a memorial on your forehead, so that the law of the Lord may be in your mouth, for with a mighty hand the Lord brought you out of Egypt. 1 ⁰ So you must keep this ordinance at its appointed time from year to year. 1 ¹ “When the Lord brings you into the land of the Canaanites, as he swore to you and to your fathers, and gives it to you, 1 ² then you must give over to the Lord the first offspring of every womb. Every firstling of a beast that you have—the males will be the Lord’s. 1 ³ Every firstling of a donkey you must redeem with a lamb, and if you do not redeem it, then you must break its neck. Every firstborn of your sons you must redeem. 1 ⁴ “In the future, when your son asks you ‘What is this?’ you are to tell him, ‘With a mighty hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the land of slavery. 1 ⁵ When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to release us, the Lord killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of people to the firstborn of animals. That is why I am sacrificing to the Lord the first male offspring of every womb, but all my firstborn sons I redeem.’ 1 ⁶ It will be for a sign on your hand and for frontlets on your forehead, for with a mighty hand the Lord brought us out of Egypt.” 1 ⁷ When Pharaoh released the people, God did not lead them by the way to the land of the Philistines, although that was nearby, for God said, “Lest the people change their minds and return to Egypt when they experience war.” 1 ⁸ So God brought the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea, and the Israelites went up from the land of Egypt prepared for battle. 1 ⁹ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the Israelites solemnly swear, “God will surely attend to you, and you will carry my bones up from this place with you.” 2 ⁰ They journeyed from Sukkoth and camped in Etham, on the edge of the desert. 2 ¹ Now the Lord was going before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them in the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel day or night. 2 ² He did not remove the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night from before the people. 1 4 :¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, ² “Tell the Israelites that they must turn and camp before Pi Hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you are to camp by the sea before Baal Zephon opposite it. ³ Pharaoh will think regarding the Israelites, ‘They are wandering around confused in the land—the desert has closed in on them.’ ⁴ I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will chase after them. I will gain honor because of Pharaoh and because of all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord.” So this is what they did. ⁵ When it was reported to the king of Egypt that the people had fled, the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and the king and his servants said, “What in the world have we done? For we have released the people of Israel from serving us!” ⁶ Then he prepared his chariots and took his army with him. ⁷ He took 6 0 ⁰ select chariots, and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, and officers on all of them. ⁸ But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he chased after the Israelites. Now the Israelites were going out defiantly. ⁹ The Egyptians chased after them, and all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh and his horsemen and his army overtook them camping by the sea, beside Pi Hahiroth, before Baal Zephon. 1 ⁰ When Pharaoh got closer, the Israelites looked up, and there were the Egyptians marching after them, and they were terrified. The Israelites cried out to the Lord, 1 ¹ and they said to Moses, “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the desert? What in the world have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 1 ² Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone so that we can serve the Egyptians, because it is better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!’” 1 ³ Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord that he will provide for you today; for the Egyptians that you see today you will never, ever see again. 1 ⁴ The Lord will fight for you, and you can be still.” 1 ⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Why do you cry out to me? Tell the Israelites to move on. 1 ⁶ And as for you, lift up your staff and extend your hand toward the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites may go through the middle of the sea on dry ground. 1 ⁷ And as for me, I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will come after them, that I may be honored because of Pharaoh and his army and his chariots and his horsemen. 1 ⁸ And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I have gained my honor because of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.” 1 ⁹ The angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 2 ⁰ It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other the whole night. 2 ¹ Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the Lord drove the sea apart by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided. 2 ² So the Israelites went through the middle of the sea on dry ground, the water forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 2 ³ The Egyptians chased them and followed them into the middle of the sea—all the horses of Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. 2 ⁴ In the morning watch the Lord looked down on the Egyptian army through the pillar of fire and cloud, and he threw the Egyptian army into a panic. 2 ⁵ He jammed the wheels of their chariots so that they had difficulty driving, and the Egyptians said, “Let’s flee from Israel, for the Lord fights for them against Egypt!” 2 ⁶ The Lord said to Moses, “Extend your hand toward the sea, so that the waters may flow back on the Egyptians, on their chariots, and on their horsemen!” 2 ⁷ So Moses extended his hand toward the sea, and the sea returned to its normal state when the sun began to rise. Now the Egyptians were fleeing before it, but the Lord overthrew the Egyptians in the middle of the sea. 2 ⁸ The water returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen and all the army of Pharaoh that was coming after the Israelites into the sea—not so much as one of them survived! 2 ⁹ But the Israelites walked on dry ground in the middle of the sea, the water forming a wall for them on their right and on their left. 3 ⁰ So the Lord saved Israel on that day from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the shore of the sea. 3 ¹ When Israel saw the great power that the Lord had exercised over the Egyptians, they feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and in his servant Moses. 1 5 :¹ Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said, “I will sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously, the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea. ² The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. This is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him. ³ The Lord is a warrior— the Lord is his name. ⁴ The chariots of Pharaoh and his army he has thrown into the sea, and his chosen officers were drowned in the Red Sea. ⁵ The depths have covered them; they went down to the bottom like a stone. ⁶ Your right hand, O Lord, was majestic in power; your right hand, O Lord, shattered the enemy. ⁷ In the abundance of your majesty you have overthrown those who rise up against you. You sent forth your wrath; it consumed them like stubble. ⁸ By the blast of your nostrils the waters were piled up, the flowing water stood upright like a heap, and the deep waters were solidified in the heart of the sea. ⁹ The enemy said, ‘I will chase, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my desire will be satisfied on them. I will draw my sword, my hand will destroy them.’ 1 ⁰ But you blew with your breath, and the sea covered them. They sank like lead in the mighty waters. 1 ¹ Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you—majestic in holiness, fearful in praises, working wonders? 1 ² You stretched out your right hand, the earth swallowed them. 1 ³ By your loyal love you will lead the people whom you have redeemed; you will guide them by your strength to your holy dwelling place. 1 ⁴ The nations will hear and tremble; anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia. 1 ⁵ Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified, trembling will seize the leaders of Moab, and the inhabitants of Canaan will shake. 1 ⁶ Fear and dread will fall on them; by the greatness of your arm they will be as still as stone until your people pass by, O Lord, until the people whom you have bought pass by. 1 ⁷ You will bring them in and plant them in the mountain of your inheritance, in the place you made for your residence, O Lord, the sanctuary, O Lord, that your hands have established. 1 ⁸ The Lord will reign forever and ever! 1 ⁹ For the horses of Pharaoh came with his chariots and his footmen into the sea, and the Lord brought back the waters of the sea on them, but the Israelites walked on dry land in the middle of the sea.” 2 ⁰ Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a hand drum in her hand, and all the women went out after her with hand drums and with dances. 2 ¹ Miriam sang in response to them, “Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; the horse and its rider he has thrown into the sea.” 2 ² Then Moses led Israel to journey away from the Red Sea. They went out to the wilderness of Shur, walked for three days into the wilderness, and found no water. 2 ³ Then they came to Marah, but they were not able to drink the waters of Marah, because they were bitter. (That is why its name was Marah.) 2 ⁴ So the people murmured against Moses, saying, “What can we drink?” 2 ⁵ He cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree. When Moses threw it into the water, the water became safe to drink. There the Lord made for them a binding ordinance, and there he tested them. 2 ⁶ He said, “If you will diligently obey the Lord your God, and do what is right in his sight, and pay attention to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, then all the diseases that I brought on the Egyptians I will not bring on you, for I, the Lord, am your healer.” 2 ⁷ Then they came to Elim, where there were twelve wells of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there by the water.

¹ For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, that our fathers were all under the cloud and all passed through the sea, ² and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, ³ and all ate the same spiritual food, ⁴ and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they were all drinking from the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. ⁵ But God was not pleased with most of them, for they were cut down in the wilderness. ⁶ These things happened as examples for us, so that we will not crave evil things as they did. ⁷ So do not be idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play.” ⁸ And let us not be immoral, as some of them were, and 2 3 ,000 died in a single day. ⁹ And let us not put Christ to the test, as some of them did, and were destroyed by snakes. 1 ⁰ And do not complain, as some of them did, and were killed by the destroying angel. 1 ¹ These things happened to them as examples and were written for our instruction, on whom the ends of the ages have come. 1 ² So let the one who thinks he is standing be careful that he does not fall. 1 ³ No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it. 1 ⁴ So then, my dear friends, flee from idolatry. 1 ⁵ I am speaking to thoughtful people. Consider what I say. 1 ⁶ Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a sharing in the blood of Christ? Is not the bread that we break a sharing in the body of Christ? 1 ⁷ Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all share the one bread. 1 ⁸ Look at the people of Israel. Are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? 1 ⁹ Am I saying that idols or food sacrificed to them amount to anything? 2 ⁰ No, I mean that what the pagans sacrifice is to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. 2 ¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot take part in the table of the Lord and the table of demons. 2 ² Or are we trying to provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we really stronger than he is? 2 ³ “Everything is lawful,” but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is lawful,” but not everything builds others up. 2 ⁴ Do not seek your own good, but the good of the other person. 2 ⁵ Eat anything that is sold in the marketplace without questions of conscience, 2 ⁶ for the earth and its abundance are the Lord’s. 2 ⁷ If an unbeliever invites you to dinner and you want to go, eat whatever is served without asking questions of conscience. 2 ⁸ But if someone says to you, “This is from a sacrifice,” do not eat, because of the one who told you and because of conscience— 2 ⁹ I do not mean yours but the other person’s. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience? 3 ⁰ If I partake with thankfulness, why am I blamed for the food that I give thanks for? 3 ¹ So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God. 3 ² Do not give offense to Jews or Greeks or to the church of God, 3 ³ just as I also try to please everyone in all things. I do not seek my own benefit, but the benefit of many, so that they may be saved. 1 2 :¹ With regard to spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. ² You know that when you were pagans you were often led astray by speechless idols, however you were led. ³ So I want you to understand that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. ⁴ Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. ⁵ And there are different ministries, but the same Lord. ⁶ And there are different results, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. ⁷ To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all. ⁸ For one person is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, and another the message of knowledge according to the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 1 ⁰ to another performance of miracles, to another prophecy, and to another discernment of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 1 ¹ It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things. 1 ² For just as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body—though many—are one body, so too is Christ. 1 ³ For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether Jews or Greeks or slaves or free, we were all made to drink of the one Spirit. 1 ⁴ For in fact the body is not a single member, but many. 1 ⁵ If the foot says, “Since I am not a hand, I am not part of the body,” it does not lose its membership in the body because of that. 1 ⁶ And if the ear says, “Since I am not an eye, I am not part of the body,” it does not lose its membership in the body because of that. 1 ⁷ If the whole body were an eye, what part would do the hearing? If the whole were an ear, what part would exercise the sense of smell? 1 ⁸ But as a matter of fact, God has placed each of the members in the body just as he decided. 1 ⁹ If they were all the same member, where would the body be? 2 ⁰ So now there are many members, but one body. 2 ¹ The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,” nor in turn can the head say to the foot, “I do not need you.” 2 ² On the contrary, those members that seem to be weaker are essential, 2 ³ and those members we consider less honorable we clothe with greater honor, and our unpresentable members are clothed with dignity, 2 ⁴ but our presentable members do not need this. Instead, God has blended together the body, giving greater honor to the lesser member, 2 ⁵ so that there may be no division in the body, but the members may have mutual concern for one another. 2 ⁶ If one member suffers, everyone suffers with it. If a member is honored, all rejoice with it. 2 ⁷ Now you are Christ’s body, and each of you is a member of it. 2 ⁸ And God has placed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, gifts of healing, helps, gifts of leadership, different kinds of tongues. 2 ⁹ Not all are apostles, are they? Not all are prophets, are they? Not all are teachers, are they? Not all perform miracles, do they? 3 ⁰ Not all have gifts of healing, do they? Not all speak in tongues, do they? Not all interpret, do they? 3 ¹ But you should be eager for the greater gifts.And now I will show you a way that is beyond comparison.