First Reading

Reading from the second letter of the Apostle Saint Paul to the Thessalonians

2 Thessalonians 3, 6-10. 16-18

Brothers and sisters: I command you, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from every brother who lives idly and not according to the teaching you received from me. You know how you ought to live to imitate my example, for when I was among you, I earned my own living and did not depend on anyone for food; rather, day and night I worked until I was exhausted so as not to be a burden to you. And it was not because I had no right to ask for my support, but to give you an example to follow. Thus, when I was among you, I told you again and again: “If anyone is unwilling to work, let him not eat.”

May the Lord of peace grant you his peace always and in every way. May the Lord be with all of you. This greeting is in my own hand. This is how I, Paul, sign all my letters; this is my handwriting. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you.

Gospel

Reading from the holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew

Matthew 23, 27-32

At that time, Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of bones and decay! So it is with you: on the outside you appear righteous, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you build tombs for the prophets and adorn the graves of the righteous, and you say: ‘If we had lived in the time of our fathers, we would not have been their accomplices in the murder of the prophets’! By saying this, you are acknowledging that you are the children of those who murdered the prophets. Finish, then, what your fathers began!”