Mass Readings - Sunday, 23rd February 2020

FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Leviticus    19:1-2. 17-18
You must love your neighbour as yourself.

The Lord spoke to Moses; he said: ‘Speak to the whole community of
the sons of Israel and say to them: “Be holy, for I, the Lord your God,
am holy.
‘You must not bear hatred for your brother in your heart. You must
openly tell him, your neighbour, of his offence; this way you will not
take a sin upon yourself. You must not exact vengeance, nor must
you bear a grudge against the children of your people. You must
love your neighbour as yourself. I am the Lord.’

The Word of the Lord.



Responsorial Psalm    Ps 102

Response The Lord is compassion and love.

1. My soul, give thanks to the Lord,
all my being, bless his holy name.
My soul, give thanks to the Lord
and never forget all his blessings.

2. It is he who forgives all your guilt,
who heals every one of your ills,
who redeems your life from the grave,
who crowns you with love and compassion.

3. The Lord is compassion and love,
slow to anger and rich in mercy.
He does not treat us according to our sins
nor repay us according to our faults.

4. As far as the east is from the west
so far does he remove our sins.
As a father has compassion on his sons,
the Lord has pity on those who fear him.



SECOND READING
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians    3: 16-23
All are your servants; but you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.

Didn’t you realise that you were God’s temple and that the Spirit of
God was living among you?  If anybody should destroy the temple of
God, God will destroy him, because the temple of God is sacred;
and you are that temple.
Make no mistake about it: if any one of you thinks of himself as wise,
in the ordinary sense of the word, then he must learn to be a fool
before he really can be wise. Why?  Because the wisdom of this world
is foolishness to God. As scripture says: The Lord knows wise men’s
thoughts: he knows how useless they are: or again: God is not
convinced by the arguments of the wise So there is nothing to boast
about in anything human: Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life and
death, the present and the future, are all your servants; but you
belong to Christ and Christ belongs to God.

The Word of the Lord.



Gospel Acclamation    Jn 14:23

Alleluia, alleluia!
If anyone loves me he will keep my word,
and my Father will love him, and we shall come to him.
Alleluia!

or 1    Jn 2:5

Alleluia, alleluia!
When anyone obeys what Jesus has said, God’s love comes to
perfection in him.
Alleluia!



GOSPEL
A reading from the Gospel according to Matthew 5:38-48
Love your enemies.

Jesus said to his disciples:’You have learnt how it was said: Eye for
eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man
no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek,
offer him the other as well; if a man takes you to law and would
have your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. And if anyone
orders you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to anyone
who asks, and if anyone wants to borrow, do not turn away.
‘You have learnt how it was said: You must love your neighbour and
hate your enemy. But I say this to you: love your enemies and pray
for those who persecute you; in this way you will be sons of your
Father in heaven, for he causes his sun to rise on bad men as well as
good, and his rain to fall on honest and dishonest men alike. For if
you love those who love you, what right have you to claim any
credit? Even the tax collectors do as much, do they not? And if you
save your greetings for your brothers, are you doing anything
exceptional? Even the pagans do as much, do they not? You must
therefore be perfect just as your heavenly Father is perfect.’

The Gospel of the Lord