Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Pharisees, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1912Readings for Mass
First Reading: Isaiah 1:10, 16-20
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 50:8-9, 16-17, 21, 23
Gospel: Matthew 23:1-12
Cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow (NRSV, Isaiah 1:16b-17).
Let us pray.
Father, we first met you in our mother's womb, when you called us into life, a share in your own divine life, through your Word who would remain ever-present to us in the power of the Holy Spirit. We responded "yes" then to become human, indeed divine beings, but how, since then, we have faltered.
You share your very life with us and challenge us to share what we have with our sisters and brothers, especially those who are oppressed and in need, but instead we think first of all of our own selves and of how we can increase our material possessions and our prestige among our fellows.
Father, in the mystery of our Lord Jesus Christ, your Word made flesh in our midst, we have come to understand that you call us to die to sin and self in every moment that we may grow in your life.
May we learn, Father, to put the needs of others first, that in constant death and resurrection, we may grow in the one reality that truly matters, your divine life, which share with all who will accept it and live it out in service of one another.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen
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