First Reading

Book of Amos (Am 9: 11-15)

I will bring about the restoration of my people and I will plant them upon their own ground.

Thus says the LORD:
On that day I will raise up
the fallen hut of David;
I will wall up its breaches,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
That they may conquer what is left of Edom
and all the nations that shall bear my name,
say I, the LORD, who will do this.
Yes, days are coming,
says the LORD,
When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
and the vintager, him who sows the seed;
The juice of grapes shall drip down the mountains,
and all the hills shall run with it.
I will bring about the restoration of my people Israel;
they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities,
Plant vineyards and drink the wine,
set out gardens and eat the fruits.
I will plant them upon their own ground;
never again shall they be plucked
From the land I have given them,
say I, the LORD, your God.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 85: 9ab and 10, 11-12, 13-14

The Lord speaks of peace to his people.

I will hear what God proclaims;
the LORD–for he proclaims peace to his people.
Near indeed is his salvation to those who fear him,
glory dwelling in our land.

Kindness and truth shall meet;
justice and peace shall kiss.
Truth shall spring out of the earth,
and justice shall look down from heaven.

The LORD himself will give his benefits;
our land shall yield its increase.
Justice shall walk before him,
and salvation, along the way of his steps.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

My sheep hear my voice, says the Lord; I know them, and they follow me.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 9: 14-17)

Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them?

The disciples of John approached Jesus and said,

“Why do we and the Pharisees fast much,
but your disciples do not fast?”

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.
No one patches an old cloak with a piece of unshrunken cloth,
for its fullness pulls away from the cloak and the tear gets worse.
People do not put new wine into old wineskins.
Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined.
Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Book of Amos (Am 8: 4-6, 9-12)

I will send famine upon the land: Not a famine of bread, but for hearing the word of the LORD.

Hear this, you who trample upon the needy
and destroy the poor of the land!

“When will the new moon be over,”

you ask,

“that we may sell our grain,
and the sabbath, that we may display the wheat?”

We will diminish the containers for measuring,
add to the weights,
and fix our scales for cheating!
We will buy the lowly man for silver,
and the poor man for a pair of sandals;
even the refuse of the wheat we will sell!

On that day, says the Lord GOD,
I will make the sun set at midday
and cover the earth with darkness in broad daylight.
I will turn your feasts into mourning
and all your songs into lamentations.
I will cover the loins of all with sackcloth
and make every head bald.
I will make them mourn as for an only son,
and bring their day to a bitter end.

Yes, days are coming, says the Lord GOD,
when I will send famine upon the land:
Not a famine of bread, or thirst for water,
but for hearing the word of the LORD.
Then shall they wander from sea to sea
and rove from the north to the east
In search of the word of the LORD,
but they shall not find it.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 119: 2, 10, 20, 30, 40, 131

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

Blessed are they who observe his decrees,
who seek him with all their heart.

With all my heart I seek you;
let me not stray from your commands.

My soul is consumed with longing
for your ordinances at all times.

The way of truth I have chosen;
I have set your ordinances before me.

Behold, I long for your precepts;
in your justice give me life.

I gasp with open mouth
in my yearning for your commands.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 9: 9-13)

Those who are well do not need a physician. I desire mercy, not sacrifice.

As Jesus passed by,
he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the customs post.
He said to him,

“Follow me.”

And he got up and followed him.
While he was at table in his house,
many tax collectors and sinners came
and sat with Jesus and his disciples.
The Pharisees saw this and said to his disciples,

“Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

He heard this and said,

“Those who are well do not need a physician, but the sick do.
Go and learn the meaning of the words,
I desire mercy, not sacrifice.
I did not come to call the righteous but sinners.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

Book of Amos (Am 7: 10-17)

Go, prophesy to my people.

Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam,
king of Israel:

“Amos has conspired against you here within Israel;
the country cannot endure all his words.
For this is what Amos says:
Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land.”

To Amos, Amaziah said:

“Off with you, visionary, flee to the land of Judah!
There earn your bread by prophesying,
but never again prophesy in Bethel;
for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.”

Amos answered Amaziah,

“I was no prophet,
nor have I belonged to a company of prophets;
I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores.
The LORD took me from following the flock, and said to me,
‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
Now hear the word of the LORD!”

You say: prophesy not against Israel,
preach not against the house of Isaac.
Now thus says the LORD:
Your wife shall be made a harlot in the city,
and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword;
Your land shall be divided by measuring line,
and you yourself shall die in an unclean land;
Israel shall be exiled far from its land.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 19: 8, 9, 10, 11

The judgments of the Lord are true, and all of them are just.

The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.

The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.

The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.

They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 9: 1-8)

The crowds were glorified God who had given such authority to men.

After entering a boat, Jesus made the crossing, and came into his own town.
And there people brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher.
When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic,

“Courage, child, your sins are forgiven.”

At that, some of the scribes said to themselves,

“This man is blaspheming.”

Jesus knew what they were thinking, and said,

“Why do you harbor evil thoughts?
Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’
or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?
But that you may know that the Son of Man
has authority on earth to forgive sins” –

he then said to the paralytic,

“Rise, pick up your stretcher, and go home.”

He rose and went home.
When the crowds saw this they were struck with awe
and glorified God who had given such authority to men.

— The Gospel of the Lord.