Daily Mass Readings – Friday, 1 October 2027

15 And you shall say: To the Lord our God belongeth justice, but to us confusion of our face: as it is come to pass at this day to all Juda, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem,

16 To our kings, and to our princes, and to our priests, and to our prophets, and to our fathers.

17 We have sinned before the Lord our God, and have not believed him, nor put our trust in him:

18 And we were not obedient to him, and we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his commandments, which he hath given us.

19 From the day that he brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt, even to this day, we were disobedient to the Lord our God: and going astray we turned away from hearing his voice.

20 And many evils have cleaved to us, and the curses which the Lord foretold by Moses his servant: who brought our fathers out of the land of Egypt, to give us a land flowing with milk and honey, as at this day.

21 And we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God according to all the words of the prophets whom he sent to us:

22 And we have gone away every man after the inclinations of his own wicked heart, to serve strange gods, and to do evil in the sight of the Lord our God.

R. (9) For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

1 O God, the heathens are come into thy inheritance, they have defiled thy holy temple: they have made Jerusalem as a place to keep fruit.

2 They have given the dead bodies of thy servants to be meat for the fowls of the air: the flesh of thy saints for the beasts of the earth.

R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

3 They have poured out their blood as water, round about Jerusalem and there was none to bury them.

4 We are become a reproach to our neighbours: a scorn and derision to them that are round about us.

5 How long, O Lord, wilt thou be angry for ever: shall thy zeal be kindled like a fire?

R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

8 Remember not our former iniquities: let thy mercies speedily prevent us, for we are become exceeding poor.

R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

9 Help us, O God, our saviour: and for the glory of thy name, O Lord, deliver us: and forgive us our sins for thy name’s sake:

R. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

8 Today if you shall hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

13 Woe to thee, Corozain, woe to thee, Bethsaida. For if in Tyre and Sidon had been wrought the mighty works that have been wrought in you, they would have done penance long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.

14 But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgement, than for you.

15 And thou, Capharnaum, which art exalted unto heaven, thou shalt be thrust down to hell.

16 He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me.

The first reading gives us a clear and courageous confession: “We have sinned,” we have not trusted God, and we have turned aside to follow our own inclinations. The people do not excuse themselves; they acknowledge that their suffering is connected with their refusal to listen. The psalm carries that confession into prayer, pleading for mercy and deliverance, not because the people have earned it, but for the glory of God’s name.

Jesus speaks with the same seriousness to the cities that witnessed his mighty works yet did not repent. Grace received is a responsibility. To hear Christ through those he sends is to hear the One who sent him, so discipleship cannot remain passive or merely admiring. The Alleluia gives us the fitting response: when God’s voice reaches us, we must not harden our hearts. Repentance begins when we stop defending our distance from God and honestly return to him. A humble acknowledgment of sin, joined to trust in divine mercy, opens the way for renewal. God’s warning is severe because his desire to save is real; he calls us to respond while our hearts can still hear.

Merciful God, you are just in all your ways, yet rich in compassion toward those who return to you. Forgive my resistance, my misplaced trust, and the times I have followed my own desires instead of your voice. Through Jesus Christ, soften my heart and give me the courage to repent sincerely. Help me recognize his word in the teaching of his Church and respond with faith rather than indifference. Remember not my former sins, but renew me for the glory of your name, so that my life may become a quiet witness to your mercy. Amen.