Wednesday,
March 01, 2017
ASH
WEDNESDAY – YEAR A
01:00
PM Multilingual Mass
08:00
PM Multilingual Mass
First Reading
JOEL 2:12-18
12 'But now -- declares
Yahweh- come back to me with all your heart, fasting, weeping, mourning.'
13 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.
14 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,
16 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!
17 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?" '
18 Then, becoming jealous
over his country, Yahweh took pity on his people.
“The
Word of the Lord”
PSALMS 51:3-4, 5-6,
12-13, 14, 17
3 For I am well aware of
my offences, my sin is constantly in mind.
4 Against you, you alone,
I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong, that you may show your
saving justice when you pass sentence, and your victory may appear when you
give judgement,
5 remember, I was born
guilty, a sinner from the moment of conception.
6 But you delight in
sincerity of heart, and in secret you teach me wisdom.
12 Give me back the joy of
your salvation, sustain in me a generous spirit.
13 I shall teach the
wicked your paths, and sinners will return to you.
14 Deliver me from
bloodshed, God, God of my salvation, and my tongue will acclaim your saving
justice.
17 Sacrifice to God is a
broken spirit, a broken, contrite heart you never scorn.
Second Reading
2 CORINTHIAN 5:20, 6:2
20 So 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.
2 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”
Gospel Reading
MATTHEW 6:1-6, 16-18
1 'Be careful not to
parade your uprightness in public to attract attention; otherwise you will lose
all reward from your Father in heaven.
2 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.
3 But when you give alms,
your left hand must not know what your right is doing;
4 your almsgiving must be
secret, and your Father who sees all that is done in secret will reward you.
5 '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.
6 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.
16 '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.
17 But when you fast, put
scent on your head and wash your face,
18 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”
