Sunday between 25 February and 3 March [not Sunday 3 March in a leap year] (if before Ash Wednesday) or Sunday between 24 and 28 May (if after Trinity Sunday)

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year B)

First Reading - Hosea 2.14-15a,19-23

A reading from the book of the prophet Hosea. Even though my people have been unfaithful, I will speak to them with tenderness, says the Lord. I will give them fruitful vineyards in the wilderness. I will lead them to a new hope, and a new beginning, at the very place where they first entered the promised land. I will renew my covenant with them, in faithfulness, mercy, and steadfast love. I will say to them, ‘You are my people’. And the people will reply, ‘and you are our God’. And the heavens, and the earth, and the harvest, will rejoice together. This is the word of the Lord.

Second Reading - 2 Corinthians 4.5-7

A reading from the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians. We do not proclaim ourselves. We proclaim only Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for his sake. God has said, ‘Let light shine in the darkness’; and any light that does shine in our hearts comes from God. And the purpose of that light is to make known the glory of God, as revealed in Jesus Christ.

We ourselves are plain and fragile clay jars, containing this great treasure - making clear that the extraordinary power of the gospel message comes not from us, but from God. This is the word of the Lord.

Gospel - Mark 2.13-22

Hear the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Mark. The disciples of John the Baptist, and the disciples of the Pharisees, were fasting. Some were therefore asking why the disciples of Jesus were not also fasting. Jesus said to them, ‘The wedding-guests do not fast while the bridegroom is with them. But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; and then they will fast.’ And he said to them, ‘You do not use new cloth to patch up an old garment, because the new cloth will pull away from the old, and the damage will be worse than before. And you do not put new wine into old wineskins, because they will burst, and both the old and the new will be lost.’ This is the Gospel of the Lord.