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 iniquities, who can stand?

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊

Matthew 5:20-26

I tell you, then, that if you are not righteous in a much broader way than the teachers of the Law and the Pharisees, you cannot enter the kingdom of heaven.  You have heard that it was said to our people in the past: Do not commit murder; anyone who does kill 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 deserves to be brought before the council; whoever calls a brother or a sister “Fool” deserves to be 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 him, 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：

We are sometimes too focused on not committing the bigger sins of theft, murder and the likes. Thus we tend to overlook the smaller sins that we commit everyday unaware. These small sins in time will be fuel for bigger sins.

Take for example anger. If this is not attended to and it grows in time, it might drive you to commit violence to the point of killing those whom we are angry with. Thus Jesus in today’s gospel exhorts us to be attentive even to our smallest sins. For if left uncheck, they might grow.