1ST READING
Isaiah
chastises the Jewish people for their lack of faithfulness to the ways
of the Lord. He calls them to a new beginning, whereby they will live
the fullness of their religious faith without compromise or hypocrisy.
This is a challenge we all face, each in our own circumstances. Let us
ask God for the grace to remain faithful to Him.
Isaiah 58:1-9
1 Thus
says the Lord God: Cry out full-throated and unsparingly, lift up your
voice like a trumpet blast; tell my people their wickedness, and the house of Jacob their sins. 2 They
seek me day after day, and desire to know my ways, like a nation that
has done what is just and not abandoned the law of their God; they ask
me to declare what is due them, pleased to gain access to God. 3 “Why do we fast, and you do not see it? afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?” Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive all your laborers. 4 Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting, striking with wicked claw. Would that today you might fast so as to make your voice heard on high! 5 Is
this the manner of fasting I wish, of keeping a day of penance that a
man bow his head like a reed, and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you
call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? 6 This,
rather, is the fasting that I wish releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking
every yoke; 7 sharing
your bread with the hungry, sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your back on your
own. 8 Then
your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your wound shall
quickly be healed; your vindication shall go before you, and the glory
of the Lord shall be your rear guard. 9 Then you shall call, and
the Lord will answer, you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am!
P S A L M
Psalm 51:3-4, 5-6, 18-19
R: A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.
1 [3] Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 2 [4] Thoroughly wash me from my guilt and of my sin cleanse me. (R) 3 [5] For I acknowledge my offense, and my sin is before me always. 4 [6] “Against you only have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight.” (R) 16 [18] For you are not pleased with sacrifices; should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it. 17 [19] My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. (R)
GOSPEL
Jesus
is not interested in splitting hairs about the legal requirements of
the faith. Religion is found in the heart of each person. It is there
that the true measure of
religion lies, as it is in our hearts that our relationships find their
basis and origin. Christianity is all about our relationships — with God
(loving Him and doing His will) and with others.
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the Lord will be with you.
Matthew 9:14-15
14 The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, “Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?” 15 Jesus
answered them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom
is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from
them, and then they will fast.”
think: Christianity is all about our relationships — with God (loving Him and doing His will) and with others.
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: __________________
____________________________________
God’s special verse/thought for me today_
_____________________________________
READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Revelations 1-3
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