Liturgical Readings for : Wednesday, 14th February, 2024
The Gospel reminds us how to approach this Lenten season of renewal of our lives.
It puts before us an agenda of prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
‘Fasting is the soul of prayer, and mercy, the lifeblood of fasting.’ … St Peter Chrysologus.
(A day of Fast and Abstinence)
FIRST READING
A reading from the prophet 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, or
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.”
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 50
Response Have mercy on us, O Lord, for we have sinned.
1. Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offence.
O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. Response
2. My offences truly I know them; my sin is always before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned: what is evil in your sight I have done. Response
3. A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from your presence, nor deprive me of your holy spirit. Response
4. Give me again the joy of your help; with a spirit of fervour sustain me.
O Lord, open my lips and my mouth shall declare your praise. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the second letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 5: 20-6: 2
Be reconciled to God…now is the favourable time.
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.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Gospel Acclamation Ps 50: 12
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!
or Ps 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!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 6: 1-6. 16-18 Glory to you, O Lord
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.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Reflection Feb 14, Ash Wednesday Matthew 6:1-6, 16-18
The word ‘Lent’ comes from an old English word meaning ‘Season of Spring’. Lent always coincides with the season of Spring. Spring is a season of renewal, when nature is renewed. The trees, shrubs and plants that look rather dead during winter start coming to life again in a wonderful way. Lent is a season of spiritual renewal in our own lives. It is a time when we try to renew our friendship, our relationship, with Jesus. Jesus’ friendship with us never dies; it never withers. His love for us never changes, regardless of what we do or fail to do. He is completely faithful to us. However, our friendship with him, our response to his friendship, can die back; it can wither. Lent in our lives can be like the season of Spring in nature. It is a time when our friendship with the Lord can come more fully to life.
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus puts before us three ways of renewing our friendship with him, prayer, fasting and almsgiving. In prayer we become aware that the Lord is present to us and we become present to him. We need to be present to our friends if our friendship is to grow, and the same is true of our friendship with the Lord. Lent is a season when we give a little more time to prayer. When we hear the word ‘fasting’ we think mostly of giving up some food or drink. However, it could be understood as giving up and letting go of whatever is holding back our friendship with Jesus. What is it that is causing us to turn away from the Lord, to take a different path to the one he shows us in the gospels? In Lent we look at what may be damaging our spirit, weakening our faith, and we try to fast and step back from it. Almsgiving can be understood as any form of loving service of others.
During Lent we look at ways we can give ourselves more generously to those in need, after the example and in the Spirit of Jesus. These are three paths we can take that will help to renew our friendship with Jesus. Lent is seven weeks long, so we are given plenty of time to take these paths. If we turn aside from any one of them during that time, we needn’t get discouraged. We just start again. Lent finishes with Easter and on Easter Sunday we are invited to renew our baptismal promises. As we work to renew our friendship with Jesus during the seven weeks of Lent, we are preparing ourselves to say a renewed ‘yes’ at Easter to our baptism and its calling.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd.
