Actively seeking justice, mercy, and compassion

As demonstrated by kindness to others,

and maintaining humility in daily life.and treating others with respect.

 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Isaiah 58:1-9a

Cry out aloud

For all you are worth; raise your voice like a trumpet blast;

tell my people of their offenses, Jacob's family of their sins.

Is it true that they seek me day after day, longing to know my ways,

as a people that does what is right and has not forsaken the word of its God?

They want to know the just laws and not to drift away from their God.

"Why are we fasting," they complain, "and you do not even see it?

 

We are doing penance and you never notice it." Look,

on your fast days you push your trade and you oppress your laborers.

Yes, you fast but end up quarreling, striking each other with wicked blows.

Fasting as you do will not make your voice heard on high.

Is that the kind of fast that pleases me, just a day to humble oneself?

Is fasting merely bowing down one's head, and making use of sackcloth and ashes?

Would you call that fasting, a day acceptable to Yahweh?

 

See the fast that pleases me: breaking the fetters of injustice and unfastening the thongs of the yoke,

setting the oppressed free and breaking every yoke. Fast by sharing your food with the hungry,

bring to your house the homeless, clothe the one you see naked and do not turn away from your own kin.

Then will your light break forth as the dawn and your healing come in a flash.

Your righteousness will be your vanguard, the glory of Yahweh your rearguard.

Then you will call and Yahweh will answer, you will cry and he will say, I am here.

 

Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19

A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 9:14-15

Then the disciples of John came to him with the question,

"How is it that we and the Pharisees fast on many occasions, but not your disciples?"

Jesus answered them, "How can you expect wedding guests to mourn

as long as the bridegroom is with them? The time will come,

when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then, they will fast."

 

Gospel Reflection ：

Embrace the call to transformative action.

Fasting is an ancient practice observed by many world religions.

Even Jesus fasted for 40 days before His public ministry.

However, in today's Gospel, Jesus does not require His disciples to fast,

seemingly contradicting this tradition. His response to John's disciples reminds us

that spiritual journeys include moments to recharge and draw closer to God.

 

Jesus likens His disciples to the bridegroom's friends during a wedding celebration,

with Himself as the Bridegroom, making it a time for rejoicing.

In Isaiah's reading, fasting is redefined – not as merely abstinence,

but as actively seeking justice, mercy, and compassion.

When we break "fetters of injustice" and end oppression, God lives in us.

Celebrating this presence, as Jesus's disciples cherished being with Him, reflects true fasting.

Let us embrace this call to transformative action, embodying the kind of fasting that pleases God.