Reading 1, Joel 2:12-18
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 14, 17
Gospel, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
Reading 2, Second Corinthians 5:20-6:2
First Reading Book of Joel 2:12-18
‘But now declares Yahweh- come back to me with all your heart, fasting,
weeping, mourning.” Tear your hearts and not your clothes, and come back to
Yahweh your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, rich in
faithful love, and he relents about inflicting disaster. Who knows if he will not
come back, relent and leave a blessing behind him, a cereal offering and a
libation to be presented to Yahweh your God?15 Blow the ram’s-horn in Zion!
Order a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, call the people together, summon the
community, assemble the elders, gather the children, even infants at the breast!
Call the bridegroom from his bedroom and the bride from her bower! Let the
priests, the ministers of Yahweh, stand weeping between portico and altar,
saying, ‘Spare your people, Yahweh! Do not expose your heritage to the
contempt, to the sarcasm of the nations! Why give the peoples cause to say,
“Where is their God?”
Then, becoming jealous over his country, Yahweh took pity on his people.
The Word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 51
R. Have mercy, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin. R
For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight. R
Create in me a clean heart,, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from
me. R.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.
O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise. R
Gospel, Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
‘Be careful not to parade your uprightness in public to attract attention;
otherwise you will lose all reward from your Father in heaven. So when you
give alms, do not have it trumpeted before you; this is what the hypocrites do in
the synagogues and in the streets to win human admiration. In truth I tell you,
they have had their reward. But when you give alms, your left hand must not
know what your right is doing; your almsgiving must be secret, and your
Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you. ‘And when you pray,
do not imitate the hypocrites: they love to say their prayers standing up in the
synagogues and at the street corners for people to see them. In truth I tell you,
they have had their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room, shut
yourself in, and so pray to your Father who is in that secret place, and your
Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you. ‘When you are
fasting, do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they go about looking
unsightly to let people know they are fasting. In truth I tell you, they have had
their reward. But when you fast, put scent on your head and wash your face,
so that no one will know you are fasting except your Father who sees all that is
done in secret; and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward
you.
Second Reading: Corinthians 5:20-6:2
Brothers and sisters, We are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were
urging you through us, and in the name of Christ we appeal to you to be
reconciled to God. For our sake he made the sinless one a victim for sin, so that
in him we might become the uprightness of God. As his fellow-workers, we
urge you not to let your acceptance of his grace come to nothing. As he said,
‘At the time of my favour I have answered you; on the day of salvation I have
helped you’; well, now is the real time of favour, now the day of salvation is
here.
The word of the Lord.
All: Thanks be to God.