FIRST READING
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians 2:1-8)
We were ready to share with you not only the Gospel of God but also our own selves.
You yourselves know, brethren, that our visit to you was not in vain; but though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the face of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from error or uncleanness, nor is it made with guile; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not to please men, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never used either words of flattery, as you know, or a cloak for greed, as God is witness; nor did we seek glory from men, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse taking care of her children. So, being affectionately desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become very dear to us.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm139:1-3.4-6(R.1)
R/. O Lord, you search me and you know me.
O Lord, you search me and you know me.
You yourself know my resting and my rising;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
You mark when I walk or lie down;
You know all my ways through and through. R/.
Before ever a word is on my tongue,
You know it, O Lord, through and through.
Behind and before, you besiege me,
Your hand ever laid upon me.
Too wonderful for me, this knowledge;
too high, beyond my reach. R/.
ALLELUIA Hebrews 4:12
Alleluia. The word of the Lord is living and active discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 23 :23-26)
These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others.
At that time: Jesus said, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith; these you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel! Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the plate, but inside they are full of extortion and rapacity. You blind Pharisee! First cleanse the inside of the cup and of the plate, that the outside also may be clean.
The Gospel of the Lord.