Saturday, February 12, 2011
Sunday of the Sixth Week in Ordinary Time
If you choose you can keep the commandments,  they will save you;
  if you  trust in God, you too shall live;
  he has set before you fire and water
  to  whichever you choose, stretch forth your hand.
  Before man are life and death, good and evil,
  whichever  he chooses shall be given him.
  Immense is the wisdom of the Lord;
  he is  mighty in power, and all-seeing.
  The eyes of God are on those who fear him;
  he  understands man’s every deed.
  No one does he command to act unjustly,
  to none  does he give license to sin.
R. (1b) Blessed are they who follow the law of the Lord!
  Blessed  are they whose way is blameless,
  who  walk in the law of the LORD.
  Blessed  are they who observe his decrees,
  who  seek him with all their heart.
  R. Blessed  are they who follow the law of the Lord!
  You  have commanded that your precepts
  be  diligently kept.
  Oh,  that I might be firm in the ways
  of  keeping your statutes!
  R. Blessed  are they who follow the law of the Lord!
  Be  good to your servant, that I may live
  and  keep your words.
  Open  my eyes, that I may consider
  the  wonders of your law.
  R. Blessed  are they who follow the law of the Lord!
  Instruct  me, O LORD, in the way of your statutes,
  that  I may exactly observe them.
  Give  me discernment, that I may observe your law
  and  keep it with all my heart.
  R. Blessed  are they who follow the law of the Lord!
Brothers and sisters:
We speak a wisdom to those who are  mature,
not a wisdom of this age,
nor of the rulers of this age who are  passing away.
Rather, we speak God’s wisdom,  mysterious, hidden,
which God predetermined before the ages  for our glory,
and which none of the rulers of this age  knew;
for, if they had known it,
they would not have crucified the Lord  of glory.
But as it is written:
What  eye has not seen, and ear has not heard,
and  what has not entered the human heart,
what  God has prepared for those who love him, 
this God has revealed to us through the  Spirit.
For the Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.
Jesus said to his disciples:
“Do not think that I have come to  abolish the law or the prophets.
I have come not to abolish but to  fulfill.
Amen, I say to you, until heaven and  earth pass away,
not the smallest letter or the smallest  part of a letter
will pass from the law,
until all things have taken place.
Therefore, whoever breaks one of the  least of these commandments
and teaches others to do so
will be called least in the kingdom of  heaven.
But whoever obeys and teaches these  commandments
will be called greatest in the kingdom  of heaven.
I tell you, unless your righteousness  surpasses
that of the scribes and Pharisees,
you will not enter the kingdom of  heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to your  ancestors,
  You  shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
  But I say to you,
  whoever is angry with brother
  will be liable to judgment;
  and whoever says to brother, ‘Raqa,’
  will be answerable to the Sanhedrin;
  and whoever says, ‘You fool,’
  will be liable to fiery Gehenna.
  Therefore, if you bring your gift to the  altar,
  and there recall that your brother
  has anything against you,
  leave your gift there at the altar,
  go first and be reconciled with your  brother,
  and then come and offer your gift.
  Settle with your opponent quickly while  on the way to court.
  Otherwise your opponent will hand you  over to the judge,
  and the judge will hand you over to the  guard,
  and you will be thrown into prison.
  Amen, I say to you,
  you will not be released until you have  paid the last penny.
“You have heard that it was said,
  You  shall not commit adultery.
  But I say to you,
  everyone who looks at a woman with lust
  has already committed adultery with her  in his heart.
  If your right eye causes you to sin,
  tear it out and throw it away.
  It is better for you to lose one of your  members
  than to have your whole body thrown into  Gehenna.
  And if your right hand causes you to sin,
  cut it off and throw it away.
  It is better for you to lose one of your  members
  than to have your whole body go into  Gehenna.
“It was also said,
  Whoever  divorces his wife must give her a bill of divorce.
  But I say to you,
  whoever divorces his wife - unless the  marriage is unlawful -
  causes her to commit adultery,
  and whoever marries a divorced woman  commits adultery.
“Again you have heard that it was said  to your ancestors,
  Do  not take a false oath,
  but  make good to the Lord all that you vow.
  But I say to you, do not swear at all;
  not by heaven, for it is God’s throne;
  nor by the earth, for it is his  footstool;
  nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great  King.
  Do not swear by your head,
  for you cannot make a single hair white  or black.
  Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,' and your ‘No’  mean ‘No.’
  Anything more is from the evil one.”
or
Jesus said to his disciples:
  “I tell you, unless your righteousness  surpasses
  that of the scribes and Pharisees,
  you will not enter the kingdom of  heaven.
“You have heard that it was said to your  ancestors,
  You  shall not kill; and whoever kills will be liable to judgment.
  But I say to you,
  whoever is angry with brother
  will be liable to judgment.
“You have heard that it was said, You shall not commit adultery.
  But I say to you,
  everyone who looks at a woman with lust
  has already committed adultery with her  in his heart.
“Again you have heard that it was said  to your ancestors,
  Do  not take a false oath,
  but  make good to the Lord all that you vow.
  But I say to you, do not swear at all.
  Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’and your ‘No’  mean ‘No.’
  Anything more is from the evil one.”

