O Lord, open our lips.
And we shall praise your name.
Invitatory Psalm
Psalm 23 (24)
The Holy Spirit has spoken to us
through the prophets and teachers of the Church:
come, let us adore him.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all who live in it.
He himself founded it upon the seas
and set it firm over the waters.
The Holy Spirit has spoken to us
through the prophets and teachers of the Church:
come, let us adore him.
Who will climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who will stand in his holy place?
The one who is innocent of wrongdoing and pure of heart,
who has not given himself to vanities or sworn falsely.
He will receive the blessing of the Lord
and be justified by God his saviour.
This is the way of those who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
The Holy Spirit has spoken to us
through the prophets and teachers of the Church:
come, let us adore him.
Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,
and let the king of glory enter.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of might and power.
The Lord, strong in battle.
The Holy Spirit has spoken to us
through the prophets and teachers of the Church:
come, let us adore him.
Gates, raise your heads. Stand up, eternal doors,
and let the king of glory enter.
Who is the king of glory?
The Lord of hosts
– he is the king of glory.
The Holy Spirit has spoken to us
through the prophets and teachers of the Church:
come, let us adore him.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
The Holy Spirit has spoken to us
through the prophets and teachers of the Church:
come, let us adore him.
Hymn
O God of truth and Lord of power,
whose word their course to things assigns,
whose splendour lights the morning hour,
whose fiery sun at noonday shines:
Within us quench the flames of strife,
the harmful heat of passion quell;
give health of body to our life
and give true peace of soul as well.
In this, most loving Father, hear,
and Christ, co-equal Son, our prayer:
with Holy Ghost, one Trinity,
you reign for all eternity.
Psalm 36 (37)
The fate of the evil and the righteous
Commit your life to the Lord,
and he will act on your behalf.
Do not envy the wicked;
do not be jealous of those that do evil.
They will dry up as quickly as hay;
they will wither like the grass.
Put your trust in the Lord and do good,
and your land and habitation will be secure.
Take your delight in the Lord,
and he will give you what your heart desires.
Entrust your journey to the Lord, and hope in him:
and he will act.
He will make your uprightness shine like the light,
your judgement like the sun at noon.
Take your rest in the Lord, and hope in him:
do not envy the one who thrives in his own way,
the man who weaves plots.
Abstain from wrath, abandon anger:
do not envy him who turns to evil,
for those who do evil will be destroyed,
but those on the side of the Lord
will inherit the earth.
A moment yet – and the sinner will be gone:
you will look where he was and find nothing.
But the needy will inherit the land
and delight in abundant peace.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Commit your life to the Lord,
and he will act on your behalf.
Psalm 36 (37)
Turn away from evil and do good:
the Lord will support the just.
The wicked will plot against the righteous
and gnash his teeth at him;
but the Lord will deride him in his turn,
for the Lord has seen what awaits him.
The wicked have pulled out their swords,
the wicked have drawn their bows,
to throw down the poor and the destitute,
to murder whoever follows the straight path.
But their swords will enter their own hearts,
and their bows will splinter.
For the righteous, the little they have is better
than the abundant wealth of the wicked.
The limbs of the wicked will be broken
while the Lord gives his strength to the just.
The Lord knows when the day of the perfect will come;
and their inheritance will be eternal.
They will not be troubled in evil times,
and in times of famine they will have more than enough.
For the wicked will perish:
the enemies of the Lord will be like the flowers of the fields,
and like smoke they will vanish away.
The wicked man borrows and does not return;
but the righteous takes pity and gives.
The blessed ones of the Lord will inherit the earth,
but those whom he curses will be cut off.
It is the Lord who strengthens the steps of man
and chooses his path.
Even if he trips he will not fall flat,
for the Lord is holding his hand.
I was young and I have grown old,
but I have not seen the righteous man abandoned
nor his children seeking for bread.
All day long he takes pity and lends,
and his seed will be blessed.
Shun evil and do good,
and you will live for ever.
For the Lord loves right judgement,
and will not abandon his chosen ones.
The unjust will be destroyed for ever,
and the seed of the wicked will be cut off,
but the righteous will inherit the earth
and live there from age to age.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Turn away from evil and do good:
the Lord will support the just.
Psalm 36 (37)
Wait for the Lord, keep to his way.
The mouth of the righteous will speak wisdom,
and his tongue will utter right judgement.
The law of his God is in his heart
and his steps will not stumble.
The wicked man watches the just
and seeks to kill him;
but the Lord will rescue the just man from his hands
and not condemn the just in the time of judgement.
Put your hope in the Lord and follow his paths,
and he will raise you up and make the land your inheritance,
let you watch as the wicked are cut off.
I have seen the sinner triumph,
flourish like a green cedar,
but he is gone, he is there no longer:
I have looked for him but have not found him.
Preserve innocence, follow uprightness:
for the future belongs to the man of peace.
The unrighteous will be destroyed altogether,
their posterity will be cut off.
The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,
and their protection in time of trouble.
The Lord will come to their help and free them,
rescue them from the wicked and save them,
because they have put their trust in him.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.
Wait for the Lord, keep to his way.
Teach me goodness and discernment and knowledge;
– for I trust in your commands.
First Reading
Joshua 2:1-24
Joshua son of Nun sent out two spies secretly from Shittim. He said, ‘Go out and explore the country at Jericho.’ They went, and they entered the house of a harlot called Rahab; there they lodged. Word of this was brought to the king of Jericho, ‘Take notice, some men from the Israelites have come here tonight to reconnoitre the country.’ Then the king of Jericho sent a message to Rahab, ‘Send out the men who came to you and are lodging in your house, for they have come to reconnoitre the whole country.’ But the woman took the two men and hid them; and she answered, ‘True, the men came to me, but I did not know where they came from. When the city gate was about to be closed at nightfall,
the men went out and I cannot say where they went.
Follow them quickly, you may still overtake them.’
She had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under stalks of flax she had heaped up there.
The king’s men pursued them towards the Jordan, as far as the fords,
and the gate was shut once the pursuers had gone through.
The others had not yet lain down when Rahab came up to them on the roof. She said to them, ‘I know that the Lord has given you this land, that we ourselves are afraid of you and that all who live in this territory have been seized with terror at your approach; for we have heard how the Lord dried up the Sea of Reeds before you when you came out of Egypt and what you did with the two Amorite kings across the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you put under the ban. When we heard this, our hearts failed us, and no courage is left in any of us to stand up to you, because the Lord your God is God both in heaven above and on earth beneath. Swear to me now by the Lord, then, since I myself have shown you kindness, that you too will show kindness to the people of my father’s house, and will give me a sure sign of this; that you will spare the lives of my father and mother, my brothers and sisters and all who belong to them, and will preserve us from death.’ Then the men answered her, ‘If we do not, it is we, not you, who will deserve to die, unless you tell of our agreement. When the Lord has given us the land, we will deal with you kindly and faithfully.’ Rahab let them down from the window by a rope, for her house was against the city wall and she lived inside the wall itself. She said, ‘You must make for the hills, to escape your pursuers. Hide there for three days till the pursuers have returned, and then go on your way.’ The men answered, ‘We for our part will be free of the oath you made us swear, except on these conditions. When we enter your land you must use this sign: you must tie this scarlet cord to the window from which you let us down, and you must gather with you in your house your father and mother and brothers and all your family. If anybody passes through the doors of your house to go out, his blood shall be on his own head and we are not to blame; but the blood of all who stay with you in the house shall be on our heads if a hand is laid on any of them. If you make this talk of ours known, we shall be free of the oath that you made us swear.’ She replied, ‘Let it be as you say.’ She let them go, and they left. Then she tied the scarlet cord to the window.
They left her and made for the hills. They stayed there for three days, till the pursuers had returned, having scoured the countryside without finding them. Then the two men came down again from the hills, crossed the river and came to Joshua son of Nun; and they told him all that had happened to them. They said to Joshua, ‘The Lord has delivered the whole country into our hands, and its inhabitants all tremble already at the thought of us.’
Responsory
It is by doing something good,
and not only by believing,
that a man is justified.
Rahab was justified by her deeds because she welcomed the messengers
and helped them to escape by a different road.
A body dies when it is separated from the spirit,
and in the same way faith is dead if it is separated from good deeds.
It was by faith that Rahab welcomed the messengers
and so was not killed with the unbelievers.
A body dies when it is separated from the spirit,
and in the same way faith is dead if it is separated from good deeds.
Second Reading
A treatise on Matthew
by St Chromatius
You are the light of the world
You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp only to put it under a bushel basket; they put it on a stand where it gives light to all in the house. The Lord called his disciples the salt of the earth because they seasoned with heavenly wisdom the hearts of men rendered insipid by the devil. Now he calls them the light of the world as well, because they have been enlightened by him,
the true and everlasting light, and have themselves become a light in the darkness.
Since he is the Sun of Justice, he fittingly calls his disciples the light of the world. The reason for this is that through them, as through shining rays, he has poured out the light of the knowledge of himself upon the entire world. For by manifesting the light of truth,
they have dispelled the darkness of error from the hearts of men.
Moreover, we too have been enlightened by them. We have been made light out of darkness as the Apostle says: For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light. He says another time: For you are not sons of the night and of darkness,
but you are all sons of light and of the day.
Saint John also rightly asserts in his letter: God is light, and whoever abides in God is in the light just as God himself is in the light. Therefore, because we rejoice in having been freed from the darkness of error, we should always walk in the light as children of light.
This is why the Apostle says:
Among them you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.
If we fail to live in the light, we shall, to our condemnation and that of others, be veiling over and obscuring by our infidelity the light men so desperately need. As we know from Scripture, the man who received the talent should have made it produce a heavenly profit,
but instead he preferred to hide it away rather than put it to work
and was punished as he deserved.
Consequently, that brilliant lamp which was lit for the sake of our salvation should always shine in us. For we have the lamp of the heavenly commandment and spiritual grace, to which David referred: Your law is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
Solomon also says this about it: For the command of the law is a lamp.
Therefore, we must not hide this lamp of law and faith. Rather, we must set it up in the Church, as on a lamp-stand, for the salvation of many,
so that we may enjoy the light of truth itself and all believers may be enlightened.
Responsory
When Barnabas came to Antioch and saw the grace of God at work there,
he was glad,
for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
He encouraged them all to hold fast to the Lord with resolute hearts,
for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith.
Let us pray.
Lord God,
you filled Saint Barnabas with faith and the Holy Spirit
and set him apart for the conversion of the nations.
Grant that the gospel of Christ,
which he preached so strenuously,
may, in our day, be faithfully proclaimed
by word and deed.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
Let us praise the Lord.
– Thanks be to God.
