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Epiphany Season · Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time · Year A

Isaiah 58:7-10

The Fast the Lord Chooses: Feed, Shelter, Clothe

February 8, 2026

The Seven Works of Mercy, Caravaggio
The Seven Works of Mercy, Caravaggio, 1607Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples
All seven works happen at once in a Neapolitan alley: a man is buried, a prisoner is fed at the breast by his own daughter, a corpse's feet stick out at the left. The painting has never left the building it was made for.Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them … Then your light shall break forth like the dawn.CaravaggioThe painter who put street models and raking light into altarpieces, killed a man in a brawl, and changed European painting in under twenty years.Pio Monte della Misericordia, NaplesA charitable confraternity founded in 1602 and still operating, which commissioned the Caravaggio above its altar and has never let it leave.Pio Monte della Misericordia, Naples
Roman Lectionary
GospelMatt. 5:13-16Mt 5:13-16
Second Reading1 Cor. 2:1-51 Cor 2:1-5
First ReadingIsa. 58:7-10Is 58:7-10
Responsorial PsalmPs. 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (4a)Ps 112:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 (4a)

Overview & Insights

"Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly." (Isaiah 58:8)

Isaiah redefines fasting for a people who assumed ritual alone pleased God, naming concrete acts instead: sharing bread with the hungry, sheltering the homeless poor, and clothing the naked. He promises that this kind of fast, not a ritual one, brings healing and an answer when you call.

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Take it further: Isaiah 58:7-10

Commentary

Commentary on Isaiah 58:1-9a [9b-12]Commentary on Is 58:1-9a [9b-12] Working Preacher

Luther Seminary commentary on Isaiah trading ritual fasting for justice done to the hungry and homeless.

Isaiah 58:1-12 CommentaryIs 58:1-12 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Reformed preaching commentary on the fast God actually wants, loosing bonds and sharing bread.

Isaiah 58 CommentaryIs 58 Commentary Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's verse by verse reading of true fasting measured by how the poor are treated.

Isaiah 58:7 CommentariesIs 58:7 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregated classic commentary on sharing bread, sheltering the homeless, and clothing the naked.

Isaiah 58 - Barnes' NotesIs 58 - Barnes' Notes StudyLight

Barnes' Notes verse by verse on the light that breaks forth when fasting becomes concrete mercy.

Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A Agape Bible Study

Catholic Bible study notes connecting Isaiah's fast to the corporal works of mercy.

Background & Word Study

Isaiah 58:7 InterlinearIs 58:7 Interlinear BibleHub

Hebrew word by word with parsing for share, homeless poor, and cover.

Isaiah 58:7-10Is 58:7-10 Sefaria

Hebrew text alongside English for Isaiah's list of concrete acts of mercy.

The Church Fathers

Isaiah 58Is 58 Catena

Verse-by-verse comment from the Fathers on Isaiah 58.

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