Daily Mass Readings – Friday, 3 March 2028

1 Cry, cease not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their wicked doings, and the house of Jacob their sins.

2 For they seek me from day to day, sad desire to know my ways, as a nation that hath done justice, and hath not forsaken the judgment of their God: they ask of me the judgments of justice: they are willing to approach to God.

3 Why have we fasted, and thou hast not regarded: have we humbled our souls, and thou hast not taken notice? Behold in the day of your fast your own will is found, and you exact of all your debtors.

4 Behold you fast for debates and strife. and strike with the fist wickedly. Do not fast as you have done until this day, to make your cry to be heard on high.

5 Is this such a fast as I have chosen: for a man to afflict his soul for a day? is this it, to wind his head about like a circle, and to spread sackcloth and ashes? wilt thou call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord?

6 Is not this rather the fast that I have chosen? loose the bands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress, let them that are broken go free, and break asunder every burden.

7 Deal thy bread to the hungry, and bring the needy and the harbourless into thy house: when thou shalt see one naked, cover him, and despise not thy own flesh.

8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy health shall speedily arise, and thy justice shall go before thy face, and the glory of the Lord shall gather thee up.

9a Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall hear: thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am.

R. (19b) A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

3 Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy. And according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my iniquity.

4 Wash me yet more from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

5 For I know my iniquity, and my sin is always before me.

6ab To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee.

R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

18 For if thou hadst desired sacrifice, I would indeed have given it: with burnt offerings thou wilt not be delighted.

19 A sacrifice to God is an afflicted spirit: a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

R. A heart contrite and humbled, O God, you will not spurn.

14 Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the Lord will be with you.

14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying: Why do we and the Pharisees fast often, but thy disciples do not fast?

15 And Jesus said to them: Can the children of the bridegroom mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then they shall fast.

Scripture places fasting within the truth of conversion. God is not impressed by an outward practice that leaves injustice, quarrels, oppression, and neglect untouched. The fast he desires loosens bonds, releases the burdened, feeds the hungry, shelters the homeless, and covers the naked. The psalm brings this teaching into the heart: the offering God receives is a contrite and humbled spirit.

Jesus gives fasting its deepest meaning by speaking of himself as the bridegroom. His disciples rejoice in his presence; when he is taken away, they will fast. Christian fasting, then, is never a performance meant to make us appear devout or a demand we place upon God. It is a way of turning toward Christ with a repentant heart, allowing his presence to change how we treat other people. A genuine fast may require giving up a comfort, yet it also asks us to surrender resentment, stop defending our selfish will, and become generous toward someone in need. When worship and daily mercy meet, our prayer becomes truthful, and we can call upon the Lord with confidence.

Merciful God, cleanse my heart and teach me the fast you desire. Give me the humility to acknowledge my sin without hiding behind outward religious practices. Draw me close to Jesus, the Bridegroom, so that my sacrifices may deepen love rather than foster pride. Help me loosen whatever binds another person, share what I have with the hungry, and respond with compassion to those who are burdened. When I am separated from the comfort of your presence, keep my heart faithful and hopeful. May my prayer, repentance, and service become one offering pleasing to you. Amen.