Gospel of February 20, 2021 with the comment of Pope Francis

READING OF THE DAY From the book of the prophet Isaiah Is 58,9: 14b-XNUMX Thus says the Lord:
"If you remove oppression from your midst,
pointing fingers and ungodly speaking,
if you open your heart to the hungry,
if you satisfy the afflicted of heart,
then your light will shine in the darkness,
your darkness will be like noon.
The Lord will always guide you,
he will satisfy you in dry land,
it will invigorate your bones;
you will be like an irrigated garden
and as a spring
whose waters do not wither.
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins,
you will rebuild the foundations of past generations.
They will call you a breach repairer,
and restorer of streets to be populated.
If you keep your foot from violating the Sabbath,
from doing business on my sacred day,
if you call Saturday delight
and venerable on the day holy to the Lord,
if you will honor him by not setting out,
to do business and bargain,
then you will find delight in the Lord.
I will raise you to the heights of the earth,
I will make you taste the inheritance of Jacob your father,
because the mouth of the Lord has spoken. "

GOSPEL OF THE DAY From the Gospel according to Luke 5,27: 32-XNUMX At that time, Jesus saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office, and said to him: "Follow me!". And he, leaving everything, got up and followed him.
Then Levi prepared a great banquet for him in his house.
There was a large crowd of tax collectors and other people, who were with them at table.
The Pharisees and their scribes murmured and said to his disciples: "How come you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?"
Jesus answered them: «It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners so that they may be converted ».

WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
By calling Matthew, Jesus shows sinners that he does not look at their past, social condition, external conventions, but rather opens them a new future. I once heard a beautiful saying: “There is no saint without a past and there is no sinner without a future”. It is enough to respond to the invitation with a humble and sincere heart. The Church is not a community of perfect ones, but of disciples on a journey, who follow the Lord because they recognize themselves as sinners and in need of his forgiveness. Christian life is therefore a school of humility that opens us to grace. (General Audience, 13 April 2016)