FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Isaiah (Isaiah 26:1-6)
Let the righteous nation which keeps faith enter in.
In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: “We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks. Open the gates, that the righteous nation which keeps faith may enter in. You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord GOD is an everlasting rock. For he has brought low the inhabitants of the height, the lofty city. He lays it low, lays it low to the ground, casts it to the dust. The foot tramples it, the feet of the poor, the steps of the needy.”
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM (Ps 118: 1 and 8-9.19-21.25-27 (R. 26a)
R/. Blest is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Or: Alleluia.
Give praise to the Lord, for he is good;
his mercy endures forever.
It is better to take refuge in the
Lord than to trust in man;
it is better to take refuge in the
Lord than to trust in princes. R/.
Open to me the gates of justice:
I will enter and thank the Lord.
This is the Lord’s own gate, where the just enter.
I will thank you, for you have answered,
and you are my saviour. R/.
R/. Blest is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Or: Alleluia.
O Lord, grant salvation; O Lord,
grant success. Blest is he who
comes in the name of the Lord.
We bless you from the house of the Lord;
the Lord is God, and has given us light. R/.
ALLELUIA
Alleluia. Alleluia. Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 7:21.24-27)
He who does the will of the Father shall enter the kingdom of heaven
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Not every one who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And every one who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell; and great was the fall of it.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
TODAY’S REFLECTION
Today Jesus uses a very strong image to depict both the weak and the strong Christian. Sometimes we hear of the collapse of a building because it was not built on a solid foundation. Houses built on solid foundations never fall. So is our faith, based on the solid foundation of the word of God. The first reading invites us to the mountain that is fortified by the Lord where we shall have protection. The Gospel tells us that the soul that listens to the word of God and lives according to its teaching is like a fortified building. Let us therefore find our protection from the ups and downs of this earthly, existential struggle by fortifying ourselves with the word of God.
Lord give us a solid faith in you through the hearing and keeping of your word.