Tuesday of the 2nd Week of Lent
Mass Readings
First Reading – Is 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!
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 50:8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23 (R. 23b)
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“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.” R.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?” R.
“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.” R.
Gospel – Mt 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 Christ. The greatest among you must be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
Featured Saints
St. Anselm of Lucca, bishop (†1086). Governed the Church of Lucca, Italy, remaining faithful to the Roman See regarding the investiture question. Pope St. Gregory VII sent him as Pontifical Legate to Lombardy.
St. Braulio, bishop (†651). Disciple and friend of St. Isidore of Seville, appointed Bishop of Zaragoza, Spain. He helped his teacher to restore ecclesiastical discipline throughout all of Hispania, particularly by opposing the Arian heresy which still persisted in that region.
St. Salvator Grionesos of Horta, religious (†1567). At age twenty he entered the Franciscan convent of Barcelona, Spain. He suffered the misjudgement and persecution of his confreres because of his gift of miracles.
St. Fridianus, bishop (†c. 588). Native of Ireland, he gathered a community of monks in Lucca, Italy, diverted the course of the Serchio River, to cultivate the land, and converted the Lombards to the Catholic Faith.
St. Edward II, king (+978). Baptized by St. Dunstan, whose guidance he followed as he assumed the throne of England at the age of 13 at the death of his father, King Edgar. He was assassinated only a few years later in a conspiracy to seize the throne.
Blessed Martha Le Bouteiller, virgin (†1883). Religious from the Sisters of the Christians Schools of Mercy, she lived in the monastery of Saint-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, France, dedicating herself to the humblest offices.
Blessed Celestina of the Mother of God, virgin (†1925). Founded the Congregation of the Daughters of the Poor of St. Joseph of Calasanz in Florence, Italy.
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