Reading 1 Is 58:1-9a Thus says the Lord GOD:Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;Tell my people their wickedness,and the house of Jacob their sins.They seek me day after day,and desire to know my ways,Like a nation that has done what is justand not abandoned the law of their God;They ask me to declare what is due them,pleased to gain access to God.""Why do we fast, and you do not see it?afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?""Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,and drive all your laborers.Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,striking with wicked claw.Would that today you might fastso as to make your voice heard on high!Is this the manner of fasting I wish,of keeping a day of penance:That a man bow his head like a reedand lie in sackcloth and ashes?Do you call this a fast,a day acceptable to the LORD?This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:releasing those bound unjustly,untying the thongs of the yoke;Setting free the oppressed,breaking every yoke;Sharing your bread with the hungry,sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;Clothing the naked when you see them,and not turning your back on your own.Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,and your wound shall quickly be healed;Your vindication shall go before you,and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! Responsorial Psalm Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19 R. (19b) A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.Thoroughly wash me from my guiltand of my sin cleanse me.R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.For I acknowledge my offense,and my sin is before me always:"Against you only have I sinned,and done what is evil in your sight."R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.For you are not pleased with sacrifices;should I offer a burnt offering, you would not accept it.My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;a heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn. Verse Before the Gospel See Am 5:14 Seek good and not evil so that you may live,and the Lord will be with you. Gospel Mt 9:14-15 The disciples of John approached Jesus and said, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast much, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered them, "Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast."   - - -Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Readings for the Optional Memorial of Saint Polycarp, bishop and martyrReading 1 Dt 30:15-20 Moses said to the people:"Today I have set before youlife and prosperity, death and doom.If you obey the commandments of the LORD, your God,which I enjoin on you today,loving him, and walking in his ways,and keeping his commandments, statutes and decrees,you will live and grow numerous,and the LORD, your God,will bless you in the land you are entering to occupy.If, however, you turn away your hearts and will not listen,but are led astray and adore and serve other gods,I tell you now that you will certainly perish;you will not have a long lifeon the land that you are crossing the Jordan to enter and occupy.I call heaven and earth today to witness against you:I have set before you life and death,the blessing and the curse.Choose life, then,that you and your descendants may live, by loving the LORD, your God,heeding his voice, and holding fast to him.For that will mean life for you,a long life for you to live on the land that the LORD sworehe would give to your fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." Responsorial Psalm Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6 R. (40:5a)  Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.Blessed the man who follows notthe counsel of the wickedNor walks in the way of sinners,nor sits in the company of the insolent,But delights in the law of the LORDand meditates on his law day and night.R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.He is like a treeplanted near running water,That yields its fruit in due season,and whose leaves never fade.Whatever he does, prospers.R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.Not so the wicked, not so;they are like chaff which the wind drives away.For the LORD watches over the way of the just,but the way of the wicked vanishes.R. Blessed are they who hope in the Lord. Verse Before the Gospel Mt 4:17 Repent, says the Lord;the Kingdom of heaven is at hand. Gospel Lk 9:22-25 Jesus said to his disciples: "The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised." Then he said to all, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. What profit is there for one to gain the whole world yet lose or forfeit himself?"     - - -Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Reading 1 Jl 2:12-18 Even now, says the LORD,return to me with your whole heart,with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;Rend your hearts, not your garments,and return to the LORD, your God.For gracious and merciful is he,slow to anger, rich in kindness,and relenting in punishment.Perhaps he will again relentand leave behind him a blessing,Offerings and libationsfor the LORD, your God.Blow the trumpet in Zion!proclaim a fast,call an assembly;Gather the people,notify the congregation;Assemble the elders,gather the childrenand the infants at the breast;Let the bridegroom quit his roomand the bride her chamber.Between the porch and the altarlet the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep,And say, "Spare, O LORD, your people,and make not your heritage a reproach,with the nations ruling over them!Why should they say among the peoples,'Where is their God?'"Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his landand took pity on his people. Responsorial Psalm Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 12-13, 14 and 17 R. (see 3a)  Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.Thoroughly wash me from my guiltand of my sin cleanse me.R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.For I acknowledge my offense,and my sin is before me always:"Against you only have I sinned,and done what is evil in your sight."R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.A clean heart create for me, O God,and a steadfast spirit renew within me.Cast me not out from your presence,and your Holy Spirit take not from me.R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.Give me back the joy of your salvation,and a willing spirit sustain in me.O Lord, open my lips,and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned. Reading 2 2 Cor 5:20—6:2 Brothers and sisters:We are ambassadors for Christ,as if God were appealing through us.We implore you on behalf of Christ,be reconciled to God.For our sake he made him to be sin who did not know sin, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.Working together, then,we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.For he says:In an acceptable time I heard you,and on the day of salvation I helped you.Behold, now is a very acceptable time;behold, now is the day of salvation. Verse Before the Gospel See Ps 95:8 If today you hear his voice,harden not your hearts. Gospel Mt 6:1-6, 16-18 Jesus said to his disciples:"Take care not to perform righteous deedsin order that people may see them;otherwise, you will have no recompense from your heavenly Father.When you give alms,do not blow a trumpet before you,as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streetsto win the praise of others.Amen, I say to you,they have received their reward.But when you give alms,do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,so that your almsgiving may be secret.And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."When you pray,do not be like the hypocrites,who love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on street cornersso that others may see them.Amen, I say to you,they have received their reward.But when you pray, go to your inner room,close the door, and pray to your Father in secret.And your Father who sees in secret will repay you."When you fast,do not look gloomy like the hypocrites.They neglect their appearance,so that they may appear to others to be fasting.Amen, I say to you, they have received their reward.But when you fast,anoint your head and wash your face,so that you may not appear to be fasting,except to your Father who is hidden.And your Father who sees what is hidden will repay you." - - -Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.