Readings at Mass, Thursday 23 February 2017
Thursday of week 7 in Ordinary Time
(Saint Polycarp, Bishop, Martyr)
First reading
Ecclesiasticus 5:1-10
Do not give your heart to your money,
or say, ‘With this I am self-sufficient.’
Do not be led by your appetites and energy
to follow the passions of your heart.
And do not say, ‘Who has authority over me?’
for the Lord will certainly be avenged on you.
Do not say, ‘I sinned, and what happened to me?’
f or the Lord’s forbearance is long.
Do not be so sure of forgiveness
that you add sin to sin.
And do not say, ‘His compassion is great,
he will forgive me my many sins’;
for with him are both mercy and wrath,
and his rage bears heavy on sinners.
Do not delay your return to the Lord,
do not put it off day after day;
for suddenly the Lord’s wrath will blaze out,
and at the time of vengeance you will be utterly destroyed.
Do not set your heart on ill-gotten gains,
they will be of no use to you on the day of disaster.
V. The word of the Lord.
R. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 1:1-4,6
(R.) Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Happy indeed is the man
who follows not the counsel of the wicked;
nor lingers in the way of sinners
nor sits in the company of scorners,
but whose delight is the law of the Lord
and who ponders his law day and night.
(R.) Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
He is like a tree that is planted
beside the flowing waters,
that yields its fruit in due season
and whose leaves shall never fade;
and all that he does shall prosper.
(R.) Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Not so are the wicked, not so!
For they like winnowed chaff
shall be driven away by the wind.
for the Lord guards the way of the just
but the way of the wicked leads to doom.
(R.) Happy the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation
cf.Lk8:15
Alleluia, alleluia!
Blessed are those who,
with a noble and generous heart,
take the word of God to themselves
and yield a harvest through their perseverance.
Alleluia!
Gospel
Mark 9:41-50
Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone gives you a cup of water to drink just because you belong to Christ, then I tell you solemnly, he will most certainly not lose his reward.
‘But anyone who is an obstacle to bring down one of these little ones who have faith, would be better thrown into the sea with a great millstone round his neck. And if your hand should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life crippled, than to have two hands and go to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out. And if your foot should cause you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter into life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye should cause you to sin, tear it out; it is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell where their worm does not die nor their fire go out. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is a good thing, but if salt has become insipid, how can you season it again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another.’
V. The Gospel of the Lord.
R. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Copyright © 1996-2013 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com. Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc, and used by permission of the publishers. Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). Used with permission of A.P. Watt Ltd. All rights reserved.
