Monday of the 20th week of Ordinary Time

15And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 16“Son of man, behold, I am taking away from you, with a stroke, the desire of your eyes. And you shall not lament, and you shall not weep. And your tears shall not flow down. 17Groan silently; you shall make no mourning for the dead. Let the band of your crown be on you, and let your shoes be on your feet. And you shall not cover your face, nor shall you eat the food of those who mourn.” 18Therefore, I spoke to the people in the morning. And my wife died in the evening. And in the morning, I did just as he had instructed me. 19And the people said to me: “Why won’t you explain to us what these things signify, which you are doing?” 20And I said to them: “The word of the Lord came to me, saying: 21‘Speak to the house of Israel: Thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will defile my sanctuary, the pride of your realm, and the desire of your eyes, and the dread of your soul. Your sons and your daughters, whom you have forsaken, will fall by the sword.’ 22And so, you shall do just as I have done. You shall not cover your faces, and you shall not eat the food of those who mourn. 23You shall have crowns on your heads, and shoes on your feet. You shall not lament, and you shall not weep. Instead, you will waste away in your iniquities, and each one will groan to his brother.

18You have forsaken the God who conceived you, and you have forgotten the Lord who created you.

19The Lord saw, and he was stirred to anger. For his own sons and daughters provoked him.

20And he said: ‘I will hide my face from them, and I will consider their very end. For this is a perverse generation, and they are unfaithful sons.

21They have provoked me with that which was not God, and they have angered me with their emptiness. And so, I will provoke them with that which is not a people, and I will anger them with a foolish nation.

16And behold, someone approached and said to him, “Good Teacher, what good should I do, so that I may have eternal life?” 17And he said to him: “Why do you question me about what is good? One is good: God. But if you wish to enter into life, observe the commandments.” 18He said to him, “Which?” And Jesus said: “You shall not murder. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false testimony. 19Honor your father and your mother. And, you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20The young man said to him: “All these I have kept from my childhood. What is still lacking for me?” 21Jesus said to him: “If you are willing to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor, and then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me.” 22And when the young man had heard this word, he went away sad, for he had many possessions.