Day of abstinence from meat (age 14 and up).

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

Ezekiel 18:21-28

 If the sinner turns from his sin,

Observes my decrees and practices what is right and just, he will live, he will not die. None of the sins he com­mitted will be charged against him; he will live as a consequence of his righteous deeds. Do I want the death of the sinner? – word of Yahweh. Do I not rather want him to turn from his ways and live?

 But if the righteous man turns away from what is good and commits sins as the wicked do, will he live? His righteous deeds will no longer be credited to him, but he will die because of his in­fidelity and his sins.

 But you say: Yahweh’s way is not just! Why, Israel! Is my position wrong? Is it not rather that yours is wrong? If the righteous man dies after turning from his righteous deeds and sinning, he dies because of his sins.

 And if the wicked man does what is good and right, after turning from the sins he com­­mitted, he will save his life. He will live and not die, because he has opened his eyes and turned from the sins he had committed.

 

Ps 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-7a, 7bc-8

If you, O Lord, mark inequities, who can stand?

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊ 

Matthew 5:20-26

I tell you, if your sense of right and wrong is not keener than that of the Lawyers and the Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. You have heard, that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who murders will have to face trial. But now, I tell you: whoever gets angry with a brother or sister will have to face trial. Whoever insults a

brother or sister is liable to be brought before the council. Whoever calls a brother or sister "Fool!" is liable of being thrown into the fire of hell. So, if you are about to offer your gift at the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there, in front of the altar; go at once, and make peace with your brother, and then come back and offer your gift to God.

Don't forget this: be reconciled with your opponent quickly when you are together on the way to court. Otherwise he will turn you over to the judge, who will hand you over to the police, who will put you in jail. There, you will stay, until you have paid the last penny.

 

     Gospel Reflection：

Keener Sense

What does a "keener sense of right and wrong" look like? I guess it looks like a sense of right and wrong that goes beyond right and wrong, our human sense of justice. For, human justice informs me that if my brother holds a grudge against me, he is the one who should come to me for reconciliation.

Human sense of fairness wants to build walls to prevent entry of migrants. The same sense tells me that only those who work should eat; and that the one who killed my brother be executed by the State.

Fair enough! But the keener sense that Jesus wants his followers to have is not fair; it goes beyond fair: it demands that I go to my offending brother and initiate reconciliation; that I break down walls that separate peoples; that I feed those who do not and perhaps cannot work; that I forgive my brother's murderer. Fair sense creates just people; keener sense creates saints.

 

"If I feel a barrier in talking to you, Lord,

it may be because I have not tackled the barrier between me and my neighbour."