Daily Reading for Monday, August 16th, 2021

Responsorial Psalm, Psalms 106:34-35, 36-37, 39-40, 43, 44

¹¹ The Israelites then did what is evil in Yahweh's eyes and served the Baals.

¹² They deserted Yahweh, God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt, and they followed other gods, from those of the surrounding peoples. They bowed down to these; they provoked Yahweh;

¹³ they deserted Yahweh to serve Baal and Astartes.

¹⁴ Then Yahweh's anger grew hot against Israel. He handed them over to pillagers who plundered them; he delivered them to the enemies surrounding them, and they were no longer able to resist their enemies.

¹⁵ Whenever they mounted an expedition, Yahweh's hand was there to foil them, as Yahweh had told them and as Yahweh had sworn to them, so that they were in dire distress.

¹⁶ Yahweh then appointed them judges, who rescued them from the hands of their plunderers.

¹⁷ But even to their judges they refused to listen. They prostituted themselves to other gods and bowed down before these. Very quickly they left the path which their ancestors had trodden in obedience to the orders of Yahweh; they did not follow their example.

¹⁸ When Yahweh appointed judges for them, Yahweh was with the judge and rescued them from the hands of their enemies as long as the judge lived, since Yahweh relented at their groans under their persecutors and oppressors.

¹⁹ But once the judge was dead, they relapsed into even worse corruption than their ancestors. They followed other gods; they served them and bowed before them and would not give up the practices and stubborn ways of their ancestors at all.

³⁴ They did not destroy the nations, as Yahweh had told them to do,

³⁵ but intermarried with them, and adopted their ways.

³⁶ They worshipped those nations' false gods, till they found themselves entrapped,

³⁷ and sacrificed their own sons and their daughters to demons.

³⁹ They defiled themselves by such actions, their behaviour was that of a harlot.

⁴⁰ Yahweh's anger blazed out at his people, his own heritage filled him with disgust.

⁴³ Time and again he rescued them, but they still defied him deliberately, and sank ever deeper in their guilt;

⁴⁴ even so he took pity on their distress, as soon as he heard them cry out.

Gospel, Matthew 19:16-22

¹⁶ And now a man came to him and asked, 'Master, what good deed must I do to possess eternal life?'

¹⁷ Jesus said to him, 'Why do you ask me about what is good? There is one alone who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.'

¹⁸ He said, 'Which ones?' Jesus replied, 'These: You shall not kill. You shall not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You shall not give false witness.

¹⁹ Honour your father and your mother. You shall love your neighbour as yourself.'

²⁰ The young man said to him, 'I have kept all these. What more do I need to do?'

²¹ Jesus said, 'If you wish to be perfect, go and sell your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.'

²² But when the young man heard these words he went away sad, for he was a man of great wealth.