Twentieth Week in Ordinary Time
Year II
20th August 2024 (Tuesday)
Psalter: Week 4
Reading of the Day
| First Reading | Ezekiel 28:1-10 |
| Response | It is I who deal death and give life |
| Gospel | Matthew 19:23-30 |
First Reading
Ezekiel 28:1-10
The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, Thus says the Lord God: Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god—you are indeed wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you; by your wisdom and your understanding you have made wealth for yourself, and have gathered gold and silver into your treasuries; by your great wisdom in your trade you have increased your wealth, and your heart has become proud in your wealth— therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you make your heart like the heart of a god, therefore, behold, I will bring foreigners upon you, the most ruthless of the nations; and they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom and defile your splendour. They shall thrust you down into the pit, and you shall die the death of the slain in the heart of the seas. Will you still say, ‘I am a god,’ in the presence of those who kill you, though you are but a man, and no god, in the hands of those who slay you? You shall die the death of the uncircumcised by the hand of foreigners; for I have spoken, declares the Lord God.”
Responsorial Psalm
Deuteronomy 32:26-27ab, 27cd-28, 30, 35cd-36ab (R. 39c)
R/. It is I who deal death and give life
I would have said, “I will cut them to pieces;
I will wipe them from human memory,”
had I not feared provocation by the enemy,
lest their adversaries should misunderstand. R/.
Lest they should say, ‘Our hand is triumphant,
it was not the Lord who did all this’.
For they are a nation void of counsel,
and there is no understanding in them. R/.
How could one have chased a thousand,
and two have put ten thousand to flight,
unless their Rock had sold them,
and the Lord had given them up? R/.
For the day of their calamity is at hand,
and their doom comes swiftly.
For the Lord will vindicate his people
and have compassion on his servants. R/.
Gospel Acclamation
2 Corinthians 8:9
V/. Alleluia
R/. Alleluia
V/. Though Jesus Christ was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich
R/. Alleluia.
Gospel
Matthew 19:23-30
At that time: Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
