A Homily – The Second Sunday of Lent (Year C)

First Reading – Genesis 15:5-12,17-18 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 26(27):1,7-9,13-14 ©

Second Reading – Philippians 3:17-4:1 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 17:5

The Gospel According to Luke 9:28-36 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 Exercise great caution when you read the sacred text. There is a temptation to read them in a way that enables the reader to justify their most corrupt desires, and that is the opposite of the way.

 The reading for today from the Book of Genesis, contains many errant and problematic tropes, even though its central message, the promise that God makes to Abraham, is sound.

 Remember.

 God does not intervene in human affairs. God never has, never does, and never will. God made the universe and every creature in it free, and as such God does not appoint kings and princes, or rulers of any order.

 God did not call Abraham, but rather, Abraham found his way to God, and as always the path Abraham took was to live a just life.

 Like Abraham we find God by doing good; through acts of compassion and mercy.

 Know this:

 God does not favor the cult of animal sacrifice. This is a human contrivance interposed on human culture for human ends.

 God did not give land to Abraham in a covenant; God is not a relator, there is no land covenant and there never was.

 The idea that there is a covenant of some kind between God, the creator of the universe, and the descendants of Abraham, merely served as a justification for seizing the so-called promised land by force.

In the time of Abraham they were lands which belonged to other people. The covenant narrative became woven through the history of the children of Israel after they slipped the bonds of the Egyptians, and only after they successfully prosecuted their wars throughout Canaan, against all of the other Semitic peoples.

Be mindful: in the reading we have been given for today, what is useful is this:

“Your descendants will number as the stars in sky.”

This is the central promise in the reading, not the phony covenant with Abraham.

God’s promise is a word of hope; Abraham’s children will increase without measure, and based on this hope we may set aside the notion that the world will come to a sudden and arbitrary end. We can set aside the notion that we are on a race to the finish line, that the clock is ticking, that the sands are falling, or that the end of days is near.

Know this!

There are billions of stars in the galaxy, and there are countless galaxies lighting up the night sky; in fact, there are stars and galaxies aborning at this very moment; their number is without end.

God is good. Open your eyes and you will see God’s goodness, look for it in the faces of your enemies, the goodness of God is shining.  

God is good. Open your ears and you will hear God’s goodness, even in the words of your enemies, the goodness of God will ring out.

God is good. God loves you, and with you God loves all people. Your eternal home is waiting for you…come, and invite your enemies to the table with you.

This is the way of Jesus.

Take heed!

Reflect on the daily concerns of the apostle, how he seeks to manage his community of believers, knowing that people are notoriously difficult to manage. They do not always do as we would wish them to do, they pit themselves against each other…they are divisive

Paul was not alone in experiencing this, Jesus experienced it with the disciples. Paul deals with it everyday, in every community he helped to form he encounters the schizophrenia of the group mind, a recalcitrant church, ungrateful, vain and unwise.

If you are responsible for the care of people and you are seeking to follow the way of Jesus, remember this; God is always with them. God dwells inside of each and every one of them, in each and everyone of us…if you are true, they will be true with you.

We may try to influence the circumstances we find ourselves in, to free ourselves from folly and the impediments of sin, which is the burden of our nature, but we are not responsible for it’s resolution. The resolution of sin is in God’s hands, and because we will not live to see it, this is something we are called on to hold by faith.

Do not give up on God as the apostle did, free yourself from the doubts the disciples shared. Do not denigrate God’s creation, or imagine that the body is evil, do not malign the state of our mortality simply because we experience hunger, disease and pain; these are belong to the mystery of life, they are of God’s creation, and God’s creation is good.

Remember.

As Christians we are bound to read the Gospel in the context of its truthfulness. We must let the Spirit of Truth guide us, even if it means rejecting a passage such as what is behind the acclamation from Matthew today.

There may have been an event or a time when Jesus, together with James and John went up the mountain by themselves, and it may have been that at such a moment Jesus connected his ministry with that of Moses, the liberator and law giver; and to Elijah who was the truth-teller.

If there was such a moment, or perhaps there were many such moments sewn together by narrative into one; this may be the case, but the supernatural events that were described in the text, these did not happen.

God does not engage in supernatural activities, because God is the author of nature and its laws, and God does not violate them for any reason…especially caprice.

The lesson here is that the disciples were meant to understand that the ministry of Jesus was in keeping with the expectations of Enoch, the Son of Man, a proto-type of the Hebrew Messiah, whose return was hoped for.

In the text Jesus warned the disciples that his ministry will lead to his death, but like Enoch, death would not stop him, and that like Enoch he would return, and this is what they hoped for.

Be mindful.

Strip the fantastical elements from the scripture as you find the, they may fuction metaphorically, or allegorically, but stories of the supernatural cannot be taken literally, they are not elucidating and to read them this way is contrary to the way.

In theology the words we use to speak about God. These words are only good and useful, if they are grounded rationality.

In mythology; we use words to contextualize our experience and link it to a world beyond ourselves, this is the place for metaphor and allegory.

These two modes of narrative are not necessarily at odds with each other, but they can be.

Myth can be grounded and rational, but only when the motif of the metaphor and the assumptions in the allegory are fully understood and properly balanced so that they are aligned with the way. They can be good and useful when they facilitate our engagement with the narrative with our eyes wide open.

By the same token theology can be irrational; if the assumptions we make about the nature of reality, human nature and the divine economy are not rooted in truth, or worse, if they are rooted in fear, hate and greed.

The mythology behind the transfiguration motif is easily and often misinterpreted,  and this is because the root of the narrative has its origins in a fundamental misunderstanding of who Jesus was.

As I have already suggested; it may be the case that those who first articulated the narrative of the transfiguration, and those who first penned it, only intended to transmit the message that Jesus stood in the same tradition as Moses the lawgiver, and Elijah the prophet.

The motif of the cloud descending on Jesus may have only been meant to suggest that Jesus’ authority, his understanding of the divine will, came from a place of mystery as well as “on high”..

The voice from the cloud naming Jesus “son,” may have only been meant to convey the message that Jesus is the “heir” to the Abrahamic tradition, and not merely a “teacher” within that tradition.

This is a grounded and rational interpretation of this myth.

However, the interpreters of this myth commonly dwell on the more sensational images in the narrative; the bright lights and the shining garments, the presence of Moses, and Elijah (as if they were actually there), their journey together into the cloud with Jesus (as if they went there bodily), the voice from that cloud naming Jesus as God’s son, as an actual declaration of paternity from the divine source of all being…this is irrational, and this fantasy-based interpretation has led to great confusion through the centuries. Incredible conflict and bloody warfare between opposing factions of Christians have ensued based on these falsities, including conflicts with non-Christians as well.

 These conflicts came about because the people involved in them felt the need to take sides on the question of who Jesus was, and defend their claims with violence; this is a tragedy, and it is antithetical to the way.

 Know this!

 Jesus was a human being, like any other. Like all creatures he carried a seed of the divine within him, and where the divine is, the divine is fully present.

 The fullness of God dwelt within Jesus, just as the fullness of God dwells within each of us. We are connected to and in relationship with God, and Jesus, just as we are connected and in relationship to every creature who ever was, is, or yet will be.

 What differentiated Jesus from his followers was his understanding of these truths and his ability to apply that understanding in a manner that points the way for us to a moral and just society.

 

First Reading – Genesis 15:5-12,17-18 ©

 God Enters into a Covenant with Abraham, the Man of Faith

 Taking Abram outside, the Lord said, ‘Look up to heaven and count the stars if you can.’ ‘Such will be your descendants,’ he told him. Abram put his faith in the Lord, who counted this as making him justified.

 ‘I am the Lord’ he said to him ‘who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldaeans to make you heir to this land.’ ‘My Lord,’ Abram replied ‘how am I to know that I shall inherit it?’ He said to him, ‘Get me a three-year-old heifer, a three-year-old goat, a three-year-old ram, a turtledove and a young pigeon.’ He brought him all these, cut them in half and put half on one side and half facing it on the other; but the birds he did not cut in half. Birds of prey came down on the carcases but Abram drove them off.

 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, there appeared a smoking furnace and a firebrand that went between the halves. That day the Lord made a Covenant with Abram in these terms:

 ‘To your descendants I give this land,

from the wadi of Egypt to the Great River.’

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 26(27):1,7-9,13-14 ©

The Lord is my light and my help.

The Lord is my light and my help;

  whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life;

  before whom shall I shrink?

The Lord is my light and my help.

O Lord, hear my voice when I call;

  have mercy and answer.

Of you my heart has spoken:

  ‘Seek his face.’

The Lord is my light and my help.

It is your face, O Lord, that I seek;

  hide not your face.

Dismiss not your servant in anger;

  you have been my help.

The Lord is my light and my help.

I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness

  in the land of the living.

Hope in him, hold firm and take heart.

  Hope in the Lord!

The Lord is my light and my help.

Second Reading – Philippians 3:17-4:1 ©

Our Homeland is in Heaven, and from Heaven Comes Christ to Transfigure Us

My brothers, be united in following my rule of life. Take as your models everybody who is already doing this and study them as you used to study us. I have told you often, and I repeat it today with tears, there are many who are behaving as the enemies of the cross of Christ. They are destined to be lost. They make foods into their god and they are proudest of something they ought to think shameful; the things they think important are earthly things. For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe.

  So then, my brothers and dear friends, do not give way but remain faithful in the Lord. I miss you very much, dear friends; you are my joy and my crown.

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 17:5

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

From the bright cloud the Father’s voice was heard:

‘This is my Son, the Beloved. Listen to him.’

Glory and praise to you, O Christ!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 9:28-36 ©

Jesus is Transfigured Before Them

Jesus took with him Peter and John and James and went up the mountain to pray. As he prayed, the aspect of his face was changed and his clothing became brilliant as lightning. Suddenly there were two men there talking to him; they were Moses and Elijah appearing in glory, and they were speaking of his passing which he was to accomplish in Jerusalem. Peter and his companions were heavy with sleep, but they kept awake and saw his glory and the two men standing with him. As these were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is wonderful for us to be here; so let us make three tents, one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.’ – He did not know what he was saying. As he spoke, a cloud came and covered them with shadow; and when they went into the cloud the disciples were afraid. And a voice came from the cloud saying, ‘This is my Son, the Chosen One. Listen to him.’ And after the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. The disciples kept silence and, at that time, told no one what they had seen.

 

The Second Sunday of Lent (Year C)

Observation - March 10th, 2025, Monday

the sun is bright, it is warm today

the walkways are wet with snowmelt

 

a breeze comes through the open window

            and the voices of robins

chattering,

with squirrels in the maple

 

the scent of wet cement reaches my nose

with an undertone of decay

autumn’s foliage,  

            disintegrating in the light of day

A Homily – The First Sunday of Lent (Year C)

First Reading – Deuteronomy 26:4-10 ©

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 90(91):1-2,10-15 ©

Second Reading – Romans 10:8-13 ©

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 4:4

The Gospel According to Luke 4:1-13 ©

 

(NJB)

 

Listen!

 God does not intervene in human affairs, having made human beings and the whole of creation free. There is no coercion force in the divine. God did not give any land to the Israelites, they took it for themselves; God does not love war or condone bloodshed. The way of God is the way of peace.

 It is always good to give thanks for the good things that come to you; just as it is wise, not to despair when bad things befall you, but do not pray for or count on God to intervene in your affairs, to free you from danger, or to rescue you from peril. You must take of yourself, relying on your family and friends, your community…even strangers if you must, and failing that do not despair, your perseverance must be through faith, for this life is not the end of things, it is merely the beginning.

 Be mindful of the teaching of the apostles, they are often wrong. Learn from their errors; reflect on what it means to be saved: to be made well.

 We are not saved by thoughts and words. It is not right doctrine, right belief or a magic-formula of mystic utterances that saves us or brings us near to God. Neither are we saved by good deeds or by any of our accomplishments.

 We are saved because God loves us, and there is nothing more to it. God loves us in the same way that God loves all creation. God’s love, which is utterly dependable, is the agent of our salvation, the catalyst and the cause.

 Have no fear.

 God, who created the universe; God will save you no matter what you confess and no matter what you believe or don not believe. You were marked for salvation when you entered into life. Christian or not; salvation is yours, because Christian or not, you are God’s child and God loves you.

 Remember this!

 We are not Gnostics.

 We do not believe that our salvation is dependent on our possession of special knowledge. You do not need to know anything about God to be saved by God. The divine hand reaches out for you with healing because God loves you. It is as simple as that.  

 Be mindful.

 There is no devil, no Satan. The only deceiver that you need to contend with is the voice of deception that speaks to you in your own heart, and that voice is yours. We are endowed with the ability to know the truth and to discern good from evil, but God has also given each of us the ability to deny the truth, to reject it and deceive ourselves.

 The lies we tell, both to ourselves and to other’s always originate in our own hearts. We tell them first to ourselves, before we try to convince others. And when we believe the lies that other people tell us, it is not them we believe but the voice within us that tells us that expresses its desire to believe them.

 The path to wellness is found by cleaving to the truth and rejecting the sugar-high of the expedient-lie, we come to it by savoring the hard truths that are made plain through the contemplation of the divine.

 Consider the Gospel reading for today, but prepare yourself first, and approach tit with clarity of mind, and a fulsome appreciation for our liability toward self-deception., for this is the lesson that the reading is meant to impart.

 Know that what you are reading in the Gospels is not the literal truth. The tale of Jesus’ temptation in the desert is an allegory, wrapped in myth and rifled with metaphor.

 Jesus was not tempted by the devil. We know this because there is no devil, and because we know that God did not create a universe at war with its creator, neither is God a banker tracking our credits and debits in some kind of glorious ledger.

 God is not a king, God does not have armies, there are no legions of the damned, there are no hosts of fallen angels. There is only God, the creator, and the creation which God loves, existing within and sustained by that love from end to end.

 The antagonist in this story is Jesus’ own self, it is the same antagonist we all face when we struggle to know and do the right thing in the face of the temptation to do wrong.

 We are our own enemy.

 The voice of temptation does not come from without. It comes from within.

 In the narrative Jesus set out to fast. His first temptation was to break the fast. He was tempted by hunger, not the devil, and he surpassed it.

 Be mindful of the power of hunger, hunger can bring a person to do terrible things.

 The second temptation Jesus faced was the temptation to transform the movement he had begun into a political one. This would have meant taking up arms against the Romans, and even his own people his own people.

 Jesus knew in his hear that this was not the way, he also knew that his closest followers would have gladly taken up arms for him. This was the temptation to possess worldly power, it was born from his own doubts and he rejected it.

 It is sad to note how in the centuries that followed the Church that was founded in Jesus’ name would not worldly power or the temptation to wage war to expand and defend it.

 The third temptation that Jesus faced was of a more esoteric nature; it was the temptation to believe the things that people were saying about him, to believe that he was a divine being, to believe that he had special powers, to believe that the mission he was on was given to him by God, and therefore it could not be stopped, not even if Jesus were to throw himself off of a high wall.

 This was the temptation of vanity, which Jesus also rejected.

 Throughout the temptation narrative Jesus demonstrates self-control guided by wisdom and humility. He rejects vanity, he rejects political power, and he rejects the power of hunger to dissuade him.

 In each case, the enemy was not an extrinsic force or a supernatural being. The enemy was altogether ordinary, it was the voice of hunger, the desire for power, and the appeal of vanity; these are temptations that each of us face everyday…each in our own way.

First Reading – Deuteronomy 26:4-10 ©

The Creed of the Chosen People

Moses said to the people: ‘The priest shall take the pannier from your hand and lay it before the altar of the Lord your God. Then, in the sight of the Lord your God, you must make this pronouncement:

‘“My father was a wandering Aramaean. He went down into Egypt to find refuge there, few in numbers; but there he became a nation, great, mighty, and strong. The Egyptians ill-treated us, they gave us no peace and inflicted harsh slavery on us. But we called on the Lord, the God of our fathers. The Lord heard our voice and saw our misery, our toil and our oppression; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and wonders. He brought us here and gave us this land, a land where milk and honey flow. Here then I bring the first-fruits of the produce of the soil that you, the Lord, have given me.”

‘You must then lay them before the Lord your God, and bow down in the sight of the Lord your God.’

 

Responsorial Psalm – Psalm 90(91):1-2,10-15 ©

Be with me, O Lord, in my distress.

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

  and abides in the shade of the Almighty

says to the Lord: ‘My refuge,

  my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!’

Be with me, O Lord, in my distress.

Upon you no evil shall fall,

  no plague approach where you dwell.

For you has he commanded his angels,

  to keep you in all your ways.

Be with me, O Lord, in my distress.

They shall bear you upon their hands

  lest you strike your foot against a stone.

On the lion and the viper you will tread

  and trample the young lion and the dragon.

Be with me, O Lord, in my distress.

His love he set on me, so I will rescue him;

  protect him for he knows my name.

When he calls I shall answer: ‘I am with you,’

  I will save him in distress and give him glory.

Be with me, O Lord, in my distress.

 

Second Reading – Romans 10:8-13 ©

The Creed of the Christian

Scripture says: The word (that is the faith we proclaim) is very near to you, it is on your lips and in your heart. If your lips confess that Jesus is Lord and if you believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, then you will be saved. By believing from the heart you are made righteous; by confessing with your lips you are saved. When scripture says: those who believe in him will have no cause for shame, it makes no distinction between Jew and Greek: all belong to the same Lord who is rich enough, however many ask his help, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

 

Gospel Acclamation – Matthew 4:4

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

 

The Gospel According to Luke 4:1-13 ©

The Temptation in the Wilderness

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit through the wilderness, being tempted there by the devil for forty days. During that time he ate nothing and at the end he was hungry. Then the devil said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to turn into a loaf.’ But Jesus replied, ‘Scripture says: Man does not live on bread alone.’

Then leading him to a height, the devil showed him in a moment of time all the kingdoms of the world and said to him, ‘I will give you all this power and the glory of these kingdoms, for it has been committed to me and I give it to anyone I choose. Worship me, then, and it shall all be yours.’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Scripture says:

You must worship the Lord your God, and serve him alone.’

 

Then he led him to Jerusalem and made him stand on the parapet of the Temple. ‘If you are the Son of God,’ he said to him ‘throw yourself down from here, for scripture says:

He will put his angels in charge of you to guard you, and again:

They will hold you up on their hands in case you hurt your foot against a stone.’

But Jesus answered him, ‘It has been said:

You must not put the Lord your God to the test.’

Having exhausted all these ways of tempting him, the devil left him, to return at the appointed time.

 

The First Sunday of Lent (Year C)

A Homily - Ash Wednesday (Year C), A Holy Day of Obligation

First Reading – Joel 2:12-18 ©

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 50(51):3-6, 12-14, 17

Second Reading – 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 ©

Gospel Acclamation Psalm 50:12, 14

Alternative Acclamation Psalm 94:8

The Gospel According to Matthew 6:1 – 6, 16 - 18

 

(NJB)

 Listen!

 The anointed one is not a king, Jesus was not a lord; the Romans may have crowned him with thorns, but to them it was a joke, they were mocking him when they called him king of the Jews.

 Joshua bin Joseph, or Jesus as we know him, was a man of the land, one of the am haaretz, his anointing came through death and through his death he showed us the way of compassion.

 Remember.

 It is right and good to pray for the people. It is even better if, when you do so, you leave the temple and go outside of the church, so that you may be with those who are suffering. To be with them, knowing that God, the creator of the universe, will not intervene in their suffering…apart from the free-agency of we who have chosen a life of service to our sisters and brothers.

 Be mindful.

 God has equipped us all to be able to deal with extraordinary grief and hardship. God has equipped us with everything we need to lift those among us who have been struck down.

 When you speak to people as a Christian, and much more so if you are speaking as a minister of the Church, speak to them with a spirit of modesty and humility; go to them as a servant.

 Celebrate, rejoice and be grateful. Share the good news: that God is with you and that God is kind and that God is caring. Do so, even while knowing that God will not intercede in the course of our lives. God will not free us from oppression, alter our material condition, remove us from the path of danger. God relies on us to do that work for our one another in order to fulfill the divine will,

 If you wish to share the good news, make your life an example of it.

 If you wish to show that God is with us, be with the suffering.

 If you wish to show that God is good, exhibit goodness in your own life.

 If you wish to show that God is kind and caring, then you must be kind and caring…even if imperfectly.

 Know this.

 With God there is never justice without mercy, there is no judgement without love.

 When we seek forgiveness from the divine, we are looking for something that has already found us, which is not to say that we should not seek it, because that is how we discover its presence in our lives

 When we come to the knowledge of our trespasses and we are contrite, that contrition is the shower that washes us, this is the baptism of repentance, symbolized by water, the reality of which is a fait accompli.

 Know this as well:

 We are all sinners.

 We are animals.

 There is little difference between the human being and the wolf or the lion, except that God speaks to us from our innermost being and is present at the core of our personhood. By being present to us in this way God gives us the power to overcome the bloody and raw aspects of our animal nature. God gives us the grace to live a holy life; and the wisdom to pursue it in good conscience.

 There is no crime that God has not forgiven…rejoice.

 Do not look for God’s hand in the tribulations we suffer, or the rewards we enjoy during the time we sojourn on Earth; our troubles are like the wind, fleeting and ephemeral, temporary and accidental as brief as the pleasures we may enjoy.

 Consider the teaching of the apostle: our salvation is the work of God; God has done the work, beginning as John said, at the first moment of creation, as the light in the darkness, bringing all things into being in the Word

 Know this!

 The fall, such as it is, happens subsequent to and in the context of God’s saving work.

Jesus revealed the truth of it, and entrusted we who follow the way with the task of keeping the truth before us…always, and sharing it.

 This is the gospel:

 You are reconciled to God.

 There is no debt to pay.

 Allow the burden of sin, and the fear of it to fall away from.

 Be glad.

 It was always God’s plan that we fall and rise together, that we rise and fall as one…because we are one, joined together from the beginning in the goodness of God; we cannot separate what God has joined.

 The apostle tells us in the simplest terms that the mission of the church is to announce the reconciliation.

 Hear this!

 Everyone is reconciled in God’s love; there are no exceptions.

 The members of the church are meant to serve as ambassadors of this good news.

 The church is not, nor should it ever be structured like a recruiting agency, obsessed with signing up members and promising a reward that has already been given freely by the creator.

 The mission of the church is to proclaim the reconciliation, to proclaim that every day, from here to eternity, to proclaim that every day is the day of salvation.

 All creation belongs to God, all that is good and all that frightens us, everything comes from God and will redound to the good.

 This is the essence of faith.

 Consider the Gospel reading for today:

 Do not seek glory or glorify yourself in public.

 Do not seek admiration from the world at large.

 Do as Jesus said: pray in private, not in public, do not boast of your piety.

 Do not brag on how much you give to the world, or how well you pay your employees, do good for the sake of doing good, be fair for fairness’ sake.

 Go to your work and to your disciplines gladly, if you are fasting then fast, smile and be happy.

 This is the way to proceed, not just for the season of Lent, but for all the days of your life.

First Reading – Joel 2:12-18 ©

Let Your Hearts Be Broken, Not Your Garments Torn

‘Now, now – it is the Lord who speaks – come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning.’

Let your hearts be broken, not your garments torn, turn to the Lord your God again, for he is all tenderness and compassion, slow to anger, rich in graciousness, and ready to relent.

Who knows if he will not turn again, will not relent, will not leave a blessing as he passes, oblation and libation for the Lord your God?

Sound the trumpet in Zion!

Order a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly, call the people together, summon the community, assemble the elders, gather the children, even the infants at the breast.

Let the bridegroom leave his bedroom and the bride her alcove.

Between vestibule and altar let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, lament.

Let them say, ‘Spare your people, Lord!

Do not make your heritage a thing of shame, a byword for the nations.

Why should it be said among the nations, “Where is their God?”’

Then the Lord, jealous on behalf of his land, took pity on his people.

 

Responsorial Psalm - Psalm 50(51):3-6, 12-14, 17

Our God comes and will not be silent!

Devouring fire precedes him,

it rages strongly around him.

He calls to the heavens above

and to the earth to judge his people:

“Gather my loyal ones to me,

those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

The heavens proclaim his righteousness,

for God himself is the judge.

Were I hungry, I would not tell you,

for mine is the world and all that fills it.

Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of he-goats?

Offer praise as your sacrifice to God;

fulfill your vows to the Most High.

You hate discipline;

you cast my words behind you!

 

Second Reading – 2 Corinthians 5:20-6:2 ©

Be Reconciled to God

We are ambassadors for Christ; it is as though God were appealing through us, and the appeal that we make in Christ’s name is: be reconciled to God. For our sake God made the sinless one into sin, so that in him we might become the goodness of God. As his fellow workers, we beg you once again not to neglect the grace of God that you have received. For he says: At the favourable time, I have listened to you; on the day of salvation I came to your help. Well, now is the favourable time; this is the day of salvation.

 

Gospel Acclamation Psalm 50:12, 14

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

A pure heart create for me, O God, and give me again the joy of your help.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

 

Alternative Acclamation Psalm 94:8

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Harden not your hearts today, but listen to the voice of the Lord.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

 

The Gospel According to Matthew 6:1 – 6, 16 - 18

Your Father Who Sees All that is Done in Secret Will Reward You

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘Be careful not to parade your good deeds before men to attract their notice; by doing this 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 men’s admiration. I tell you solemnly, 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; I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you pray, go to your private room and, when you have shut your door, 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 fast do not put on a gloomy look as the hypocrites do: they pull long faces to let men know they are fasting. I tell you solemnly, they have had their reward. But when you fast, put oil 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.’

Ash Wednesday (Year C), A Holy Day of Obligation