February
10, 2016
Ash
Wednesday
Reading 1
12Even
now, says the LORD, return
to me with your whole heart, with
fasting, and weeping, and mourning; 13Rend
your hearts, not your garments, and
return to the LORD, your God. For
gracious and merciful is He, slow
to anger, rich in kindness,
and
relenting in punishment.
14Perhaps
he will again relent and
leave behind him a blessing, Offerings
and libations for
the LORD, your God.
15Blow
the trumpet in Zion! proclaim
a fast, call
an assembly; 16Gather
the people,
notify
the congregation; Assemble
the elders, gather
the children and
the infants at the breast; Let
the bridegroom quit his room and
the bride her chamber.
17Between
the porch and the altar let
the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep,
And
say, “Spare, O LORD, your people, and
make not your heritage a reproach,
with
the nations ruling over them! Why
should they say among the peoples,
‘Where
is their God?’”[1] 18Then
the LORD was stirred to concern for his land and
took pity on his people.
Responsorial Psalm
3Have
mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in
the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense. 4Thoroughly
wash me from my guilt and
of my sin cleanse me.
R.
Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
5For
I acknowledge my offense, and
my sin is before me always: 6a“Against
you only have I sinned, 6band
done what is evil in your sight.”
R.
Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
12A
clean heart create for me, O God, and
a steadfast spirit renew within me.
13Cast
me not out from your presence, and
your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R.
Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
14Give
me back the joy of your salvation, and
a willing spirit sustain in me. 17O
Lord, open my lips, and
my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R.
Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.
Reading 2
5:20Brothers
and sisters: We
are ambassadors for Christ, as
if God were appealing through us. We
implore you on behalf of Christ, be
reconciled to God. 5:21For
our sake He made him to be sin who did not know sin, so
that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.[2]
6:1Working
together, then, we
appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.
For
he says:[3] 6:2In
an acceptable time I heard you, and
on the day of salvation I helped you. Behold,
now is a very acceptable time; behold,
now is the day of salvation.[4]
Verse
Before The Gospel see Psalm 95:8
If
today your hear his voice, harden
not your hearts.
Gospel
1Jesus
said to His disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that
people may see them; otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly
Father. 2When you give alms, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the
hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets to win the praise of others.
Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.[5]
3But
when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing, 4so
that your almsgiving may be secret. And your Father who sees in secret will
repay you.
5“When
you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to stand and pray in the
synagogues and on street corners so that others may see them. Amen, I say to
you, they have received their reward. 6But when you pray, go to your inner
room, close the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father who
sees in secret will repay you.
16“When
you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites. They neglect their
appearance, so that they may appear to others to be fasting. Amen, I say to
you, they have received their reward.[6]
17But
when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18so that you may not
appear to be fasting, except to your Father who is hidden. And your Father who
sees what is hidden will repay you.”[7]
Notes on Readings:
[1] Joel 2:17 - The priests stood in the
open space between the outdoor altar of holocausts and the temple building,
facing the latter in order thereby to look toward God present in the holy of
holies.
[2] 2 Corinthians 5:21 - This is a
statement of God's purpose, expressed paradoxically in terms of sharing and
exchange of attributes. As Christ became our righteousness (1 Corinthians 1:30), we become God's righteousness (compare with 2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
[3] 2 Corinthains 6:1 - Not to receive .
. . in vain: that is to conform to the gift of justification and new creation. The
context indicates how this can be done concretely: become God's righteousness (2 Corinthians 5:21), not live for oneself (2 Corinthians 5;15) be reconciled with Paul (2 Corinthians 6;11-13; 7:2-3).
[4] 2 Corinthains 6:2 - In an acceptable
time: Paul cites the Septuagint text of Isaiah 49:8; the Hebrew reads "in a time of favor"; it is
parallel to "on the day of salvation." Now: God is bestowing favor
and salvation at this very moment, as Paul is addressing his letter to them.
[5] Matthew 6:2 - The hypocrites: the
scribes and Pharisees, see Matthew 23:13, 15, 23, 25, 27, 29. The designation reflects an attitude resulting not only
from the controversies at the time of Jesus' ministry but from the opposition
between Pharisaic Judaism and the church of Matthew. They have received their
reward: they desire praise and have received what they were looking for.
[6] Matthew 6:16 - The only fast
prescribed in the Mosaic law was that of the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16;31), but the practice of regular fasting was common in later
Judaism; compare Didache Matthew 9:1.
[7] Matthew 6:1-18 - The sermon continues
with a warning against doing good in order to be seen and gives three examples,
almsgiving (Matthew 6;2-4), prayer (Matthew 6:5-15) , and fasting (Matthew 6;16-18). In each, the conduct of the hypocrites
(Matthew 6;2) is contrasted with that demanded of the disciples. The
sayings about reward found here and elsewhere (⇒ Matthew 5;12, 46; 10:41-42 show that this is a genuine element of Christian moral
exhortation. Possibly to underline the difference between the Christian idea of
reward and that of the hypocrites, the evangelist uses two different Greek
verbs to express the rewarding of the disciples and that of the hypocrites; in
the latter case it is the verb apecho, a commercial term for giving a receipt
for what has been paid in full (Matthew 6;2, 5, 16).
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Dear Humanity,
I personally encourage everyone to emulate JESUS' values on LOVE, FAITH, HOPE
and CHARITY, as the humanity has been a failure; which resulted to the more than two (2) years of pandemic and its after-effects on economy, not only here in the Philippines but worldwide.
And the saddest part of it, is that, it affected the POOREST of the POOR to even extremely be more poorer, in exchange of the affluent to be more richer.
Thank you and may GOD bless you and the whole family to have an enjoyed life's journey at home, Church, schools/universities, corporate commitments, public and places of interest.