First Reading

Leviticus 25:1, 8-17

1And the Lord spoke to Moses on mount Sinai, saying: 2Speak to the sons of Israel, and you shall say to them: When you will have entered into the land which I will give to you, rest on the Sabbath of the Lord. 3For six years you shall sow your field, and for six years you shall care for your vineyard, and you shall gather its fruits. 4But in the seventh year, there shall be a Sabbath of the land, a resting of the Lord. You shall not sow your field, and you shall not care for your vineyard. 5What the soil shall spontaneously produce, you shall not harvest. And you shall not gather the grapes of the first-fruits as a crop. For it is a year of rest for the land. 6But these shall be yours for food, for you and for your men and women servants, and for your hired hands, and for the newcomers who sojourn with you: 7all that grows on its own shall provide food for your beasts and cattle. 8You shall also number for yourselves seven weeks of years, that is, seven times seven, which together makes forty-nine years. 9And you shall sound the trumpet in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, at the time of the atonement, throughout all your land. 10And you shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim a remission for all the inhabitants of your land: for the same is the Jubilee. A man shall return to his possession, and each one shall go back to his original family, 11for it is the Jubilee and the fiftieth year. You shall not sow, and you shall not reap what grows in the field of its own accord, and you shall not gather the first-fruits of the crop, 12due to the sanctification of the Jubilee. But you shall eat them as they present themselves. 13In the year of the Jubilee, all shall return to their possessions. 14When you will sell anything to your fellow citizen, or buy anything from him, do not cause your brother grief, but buy from him according to the number of years from the Jubilee, 15and he shall sell to you according to the computation of the produce. 16The more years that will remain after the Jubilee, the more the price shall increase, and the less the time is numbered, so much less shall the purchase price be. For he will sell to you the time for the produce. 17Do not be willing to afflict your countrymen, but let each one fear his God. For I am the Lord your God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 66

2May God have mercy on us and bless us. May he shine his countenance upon us, and may he have mercy on us. 3So may we know your way upon the earth, your salvation among all nations. 4Let the peoples confess to you, O God. Let all the peoples confess to you. 5May the nations rejoice and exult. For you judge the peoples with equity, and you direct the nations on earth. 6Let the peoples confess to you, O God. Let all the peoples confess to you. 7The earth has provided her fruit. May God, our God, bless us. 8May God bless us, and may all the ends of the earth fear him.

Gospel

Matthew 14:1-12

1In that time, Herod the Tetrarch heard the news about Jesus. 2And he said to his servants: “This is John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead, and that is why miracles are at work in him.” 3For Herod had apprehended John, and bound him, and put him in prison, because of Herodias, the wife of his brother. 4For John was telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5And though he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet. 6Then, on Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced in their midst, and it pleased Herod. 7And so he promised with an oath to give her whatever she would ask of him. 8But, having been advised by her mother, she said, “Give me here, on a platter, the head of John the Baptist.” 9And the king was greatly saddened. But because of his oath, and because of those who sat at table with him, he ordered it to be given. 10And he sent and beheaded John in prison. 11And his head was brought on a platter, and it was given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12And his disciples approached and took the body, and they buried it. And arriving, they reported it to Jesus.