FIRST READING
They anointed Joash king and said, “Long live the king!”
A reading from the second Book of Kings (2 Kings 11:1-4.9-18, 20)
In those days: When Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the royal family. But Jehosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister of Ahaziah, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him away from among the king’s sons who were about to be slain, and she put him and his nurse in a bedchamber. Thus she hid him from Athaliah, so that he was not slain; and he remained with her six years, hid in the house of the Lord, while Athaliah reigned over the land. But in the seventh year Jehoiada sent and brought the captains of the Carites and of the guards, and had them come to him in the house of the Lord; and he made a covenant with them and put them under oath in the house of the Lord, and he showed them the king’s son. The captains did according to all that Jehoiada the priest commanded, and each brought his men who were to go off duty on the sabbath, with those who were to come on duty on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. And the priest delivered to the captains the spears and shields that had been King David’s, which were in the house of the Lord; and the guards stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, from the south side of the house to, the north side of the house, around the altar and the house. Then he brought out the king’s son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the covenant; and they proclaimed him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, “Long live the king!” When Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she went into the house of the Lord to the people; and when she looked, there was the king standing by the pillar, according to the custom, and the captains and the trumpeters beside the king, and all the people of the land rejoicing and blowing trumpets. And Athaliah tore her clothes, and cried, “Treason! Treason!” Then Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains who were set over the army, “Bring her out between the ranks; and slay with the sword any one who follows her.” For the priest said, “Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord.” So they laid hands on her; and she went through the horses’ entrance to the king’s house, and there she was slain. And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and people, that they should be the Lord’s people; and also between the king and the people. Then all the people of the land went to the house of Baal, and tore it down; his altars and his images they broke in pieces, and they slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest posted watchmen over the house of the Lord. So all the people of the land rejoiced; and the city was quiet after Athaliah had been slain with the sword at the king’s house.
The word of the Lord
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 132: 11. 12. 13-14. 17-18 (R. 13)
R/. The Lord has chosen Sion; he has desired it for his dwelling
The Lord swore an oath to David;
he will not go back on his word:
“A son, the fruit of your body,
will I set upon your throne. R/.
If your sons hold fast to my covenant,
and my laws that I have taught them,
their sons, in turn, shall sit
on your throne from age to age.” R/.
R/. The Lord has chosen Sion; he has desired it for his dwelling.
For the Lord has chosen Sion;
he has desired it for his dwelling:
“This is my resting-place from age to age;
here have I chosen to dwell.” R/.
“I will make a stock sprout up for! David;
I will prepare a lamp for my anointed.
I will cover his enemies with shame,
but on him my crown shall shine.” R/.
ALLELUIA Matthew 5:3
Alleluia. Blessed are the pure in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Alleluia
GOSPEL
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 6:19-23)
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is sound, your whole body will be full of light; but if your eye is not sound, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!”
The Gospel of the Lord
TODAY’S REFLECTION
To what kind of treasure do we entrust our heart? Christ alerts us to false treasures: earthly ones. He offers us the one treasure worthy of the human heart, the one treasure that will not betray us, the only one that can accompany us through the grave and across the threshold to eternal life. It is the Person of Christ Himself and all the good actions we do for His sake. Living for Christ alone, loving Him above all else, giving up our lives, our very selves for Him, constitutes the only treasure rich enough to satisfy the human heart. Only this treasure will remain for all eternity, immersing us in a joy that is ever beginning, ever new. “You don’t realize Jesus is all you need until Jesus is all you have.”