First Reading

Book of the Prophet Joel (Jl 2: 12-18)

Tear your hearts and not your garments.

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent
and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations
for the LORD, your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion!
proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the people,
notify the congregation;
Assemble the elders,
gather the children
and the infants at the breast;
Let the bridegroom quit his room
and the bride her chamber.
Between the porch and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep,
And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
with the nations ruling over them!
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”

Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land
and took pity on his people.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm (Ps 51: 3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17)

Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.

For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”

A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.

Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Second Reading

The second Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (2 Cor 5: 20 — 6: 2)

Be reconciled to God. Behold, now is the acceptable time.

Brothers and sisters:

We are ambassadors for Christ,
as if God were appealing through us.
We implore you on behalf of Christ,
be reconciled to God.
For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin,
so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

Working together, then,
we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.

For he says:

In an acceptable time I heard you,
and on the day of salvation I helped you.

Behold, now is a very acceptable time;
behold, now is the day of salvation.

— The word of the Lord.

Gospel

Glory and praise to you, O Christ.

If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

Glory and praise to you, O Christ.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 6: 1-6, 16-18)

Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Take care not to perform righteous deeds
in order that people may see them;
otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.
When you give alms,
do not blow a trumpet before you,
as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets
to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you give alms,
do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
so that your almsgiving may be secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

When you pray,
do not be like the hypocrites,
who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street corners
so that others may see them.
Amen, I say to you,
they have received their reward.
But when you pray, go to your inner room,
close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you.

When you fast,
do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.
They neglect their appearance,
so that they may appear to others to be fasting.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.
But when you fast,
anoint your head and wash your face,
so that you may not appear to be fasting,
except to your Father who is hidden.
And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

The Letter of Saint James (Jas 1: 12-18)

God tempts no one.

Blessed is he who perseveres in temptation,
for when he has been proven he will receive the crown of life
that he promised to those who love him.
No one experiencing temptation should say,

“I am being tempted by God”;

for God is not subject to temptation to evil,
and he himself tempts no one.
Rather, each person is tempted when lured and enticed by his desire.
Then desire conceives and brings forth sin,
and when sin reaches maturity it gives birth to death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers and sisters:
all good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.
He willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 94: 12-13a, 14-15, 18-19

Blessed the man you instruct, O Lord.

Blessed the man whom you instruct, O LORD,
whom by your law you teach,
Giving him rest from evil days.

For the LORD will not cast off his people,
nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice,
and all the upright of heart shall follow it.

When I say, “My foot is slipping,”
your mercy, O LORD, sustains me;
When cares abound within me,
your comfort gladdens my soul.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Whoever loves me will keep my word, says the Lord; and my Father will love him and we will come to him.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark (Mk 8: 14-21)

Guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.

The disciples had forgotten to bring bread,
and they had only one loaf with them in the boat.
Jesus enjoined them,

“Watch out,
guard against the leaven of the Pharisees
and the leaven of Herod.”

They concluded among themselves that
it was because they had no bread.
When he became aware of this he said to them,

“Why do you conclude that it is because you have no bread?
Do you not yet understand or comprehend?
Are your hearts hardened?
Do you have eyes and not see, ears and not hear?
And do you not remember,
when I broke the five loaves for the five thousand,
how many wicker baskets full of fragments you picked up?”

They answered him,

“Twelve.”

“When I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand,
how many full baskets of fragments did you pick up?”

They answered him,

“Seven.”

He said to them,

“Do you still not understand?”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

The Letter of Saint James (Jas 1: 1-11)

The testing of your faith produces perseverance so that you may be perfect.

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,
to the twelve tribes in the dispersion, greetings.

Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,
when you encounter various trials,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
And let perseverance be perfect,
so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
But if any of you lacks wisdom,
he should ask God who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly,
and he will be given it.
But he should ask in faith, not doubting,
for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea
that is driven and tossed about by the wind.
For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord,
since he is a man of two minds, unstable in all his ways.

The brother in lowly circumstances
should take pride in high standing,
and the rich one in his lowliness,
for he will pass away “like the flower of the field.”
For the sun comes up with its scorching heat and dries up the grass,
its flower droops, and the beauty of its appearance vanishes.
So will the rich person fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 119: 67, 68, 71, 72, 75, 76

Be kind to me, Lord, and I shall live.

Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I hold to your promise.

You are good and bountiful;
teach me your statutes.

It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I may learn your statutes.

The law of your mouth is to me more precious
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

I know, O LORD, that your ordinances are just,
and in your faithfulness you have afflicted me.

Let your kindness comfort me
according to your promise to your servants.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

I am the way and the truth and the life, says the Lord; no one comes to the Father except through me.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark (Mk 8: 11-13)

Why does this generation seek a sign?

The Pharisees came forward and began to argue with Jesus,
seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.
He sighed from the depth of his spirit and said,

“Why does this generation seek a sign?
Amen, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”

Then he left them, got into the boat again,
and went off to the other shore.

— The Gospel of the Lord.