Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green. Year: A(II).

First reading
Ezekiel 24:15-24

‘Ezekiel shall be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do.’

The word of the Lord came to me: ‘Son of man, behold, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you at a stroke; yet you shall not mourn or weep, nor shall your tears run down. Sigh, but not aloud; make no mourning for the dead. Bind on your turban, and put your shoes on your feet; do not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men.’ So I spoke to the people in the morning, and at evening my wife died. And on the next morning I did as I was commanded.

And the people said to me, ‘Will you not tell us what these things mean for us, that you are acting thus?’ Then I said to them, ‘The word of the Lord came to me: “Say to the house of Israel, Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will profane my sanctuary, the pride of your power, the delight of your eyes, and the yearning of your soul, and your sons and your daughters whom you left behind shall fall by the sword. And you shall do as I have done; you shall not cover your lips, nor eat the bread of men. Your turbans shall be on your heads and your shoes on your feet; you shall not mourn or weep, but you shall rot away in your iniquities and groan to one another. Thus shall Ezekiel be to you a sign; according to all that he has done you shall do. When this comes, then you will know that I am the Lord God.” ’

Responsorial Psalm
Deuteronomy 32:18-19. 20. 21. ℟ cf. 18a

You neglected the God who begot you.

You neglected the Rock that begot you,

you forgot the God who gave you birth.

The Lord observed it and was jealous;

he spurned his sons and daughters.

You neglected the God who begot you.

And he said, ‘I will hide my face from them;

I will see how their end will fare.

For they are a rebellious race,

children with no faithfulness in them.’

You neglected the God who begot you.

‘They stirred me to jealousy with what is no-god;

incited me with their idols.

I will arouse their jealousy who are no-people;

I will provoke them with a nation of fools.’

You neglected the God who begot you.

Gospel Acclamation	Matthew 5:3

Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Alleluia.

Gospel
Matthew 19:16-22

‘If you would be perfect, sell what you possess, and you will have treasure in heaven.’

At that time: Behold, a man came up to Jesus, saying, ‘Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?’ And he said to him, ‘Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.’ He said to him, ‘Which ones?’ And Jesus said, ‘You shall not murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not bear false witness; Honour your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ The young man said to him, ‘All these I have kept. What do I still lack?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.’ When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.

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Christian Art

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The readings on this page are from the English Standard Version, which is used at Mass in Great Britain. The Jerusalem Bible (which is used at Mass in much of the English-speaking world) will appear instead if you set this page to use a calendar from outside Great Britain. The New American Bible readings, which are used at Mass in the United States, are available in the Universalis apps, programs and downloads.