Catholic Missal of the day: Tuesday, February 23 2016

Tuesday of the Second week of Lent

Tuesday of the Second week of Lent

1. Reading

Book of Isaiah

1,10.16-20.

]Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah!
]Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil;
]learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan's plea, defend the widow.
]Come now, let us set things right, says the LORD: Though your sins be like scarlet, they may become white as snow; Though they be crimson red, they may become white as wool.
]If you are willing, and obey, you shall eat the good things of the land;
]But if you refuse and resist, the sword shall consume you: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken!

Psalm

Psalms

50(49),8-9.16bc-17.21.23.

]"Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
]I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold."
]"Why do you recite my statutes,
]and profess my covenant with your mouth,
]Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?"
]"When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.  
]He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.”

Gospel

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew

23,1-12.

]Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples,
]saying, "The scribes and the Pharisees have taken their seat on the chair of Moses.
]Therefore, do and observe all things whatsoever they tell you, but do not follow their example. For they preach but they do not practice.
]They tie up heavy burdens (hard to carry) and lay them on people's shoulders, but they will not lift a finger to move them.
]All their works are performed to be seen. They widen their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.
]They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues,
]greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation 'Rabbi.'
]As for you, do not be called 'Rabbi.' You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
]Call no one on earth your father; you have but one Father in heaven.
]Do not be called 'Master'; you have but one master, the Messiah.
]The greatest among you must be your servant.
]Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."

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St. Polycarp(Bishop and Martyr († 167))

SAINT POLYCARP Bishop and Martyr( 167) St. Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna and a disciple of St. John. He exhorted the Philippians to practice fraternal love and to refute heresy. After meeting the apostate Marcion in Rome, he linked heresy with Satan. In the year 167, a persecution erupted in Smyrna. When St. Polycarp heard his pursuers at the door, he resigned himself to the will of God. He was offered freedom in exchange for cursing Jesus; and replied: "Eighty-six years I have served Him and He never did me wrong. How can I blaspheme my Savior?" When threatened with immolation, he told the proconsul, "Your fire lasts only a little, but the fire prepared for the wicked lasts forever." During St. Polycarp's execution, he was unharmed by the flames. His tormentor then stabbed him in the heart. His remains were burned and discarded. St. Polycarp's biographers wrote, "We took up the bones, more precious than the richest jewels or gold, and deposited them in a fitting place, at which may God grant us to assemble with joy to celebrate the birthday of the martyr to his life in Heaven!"

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St. Serenus(Martyr († 307))

SAINT SERENUS Martyr( 307) St. Serenus was a Grecian. He quitted estate, friends and country to serve God in celibacy, penance and prayer. He bought a garden in Sirmium, Pannonia, modern Serbia, cultivated it with his own hands and lived on its fruits and herbs. One day, St. Serenus was approached by a woman and her two daughters. He asked them to withdraw out of consideration, but the woman became incensed. She told her husband that Serenus had insulted her. The husband demanded justice and sent a letter to the province's governor enabling him to obtain satisfaction. When St. Serenus appeared in court, he testified that the women came into his garden uninvited and that he asked them to withdraw for privacy's sake. The officer dropped the prosecution; but the governor, suspecting St. Serenus was Christian, asked him, "Who are you, and what is your religion?" St. Serenus, prompted by the Holy Spirit, replied that he was Christian. He was then sentenced to death for eluding the emperor's edicts and refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods. No sooner was the sentence pronounced than St. Serenus was carried off and beheaded. He was martyred on February 23, 307. He gained the beatific vision and sees God face to face forever.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2016 / Catholic Missal of february 2016