16th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 (JB)

A reading from the book of Wisdom

In the place of sin, you give repentance.

There is no god, other than you, who cares for everything,

to whom you might have to prove that you never judged unjustly.

Your justice has its source in strength,

your sovereignty over all makes you lenient to all.

You show your strength when your sovereign power is questioned

and you expose the insolence of those who know it;

but, disposing of such strength, you are mild in judgement,

you govern us with great lenience,

for you have only to will, and your power is there.

By acting thus you have taught a lesson to your people

how the virtuous man must be kindly to his fellow men,

and you have given your sons the good hope

that after sin you will grant repentance.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Wisdom 12:13, 16-19 (NRSV)

A reading from the book of Wisdom

There is no god besides you, Lord,

whose care is for all people,

to whom you should prove that you have not judged unjustly.

For your strength is the source of righteousness,

and your sovereignty over all causes you to spare all.

For you show your strength

when people doubt the completeness of your power,

and you rebuke any insolence among those who know it.

Although you are sovereign in strength,

you judge with mildness,

and with great forbearance you govern us;

for you have power to act whenever you choose.

Through such works you have taught your people

that the righteous must be kind,

and you have filled your children with good hope,

because you give repentance for sins.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Ps 85:5-6, 9-10, 15-16 (JB)

R. Lord, you are good and forgiving.

O Lord, you are good and forgiving,

full of love to all who call.

Give heed, O Lord, to my prayer

and attend to the sound of my voice. R.

All the nations shall come to adore you

and glorify your name, O Lord:

for you are great and do marvellous deeds,

you who alone are God. R.

But you, God of mercy and compassion,

slow to anger, O Lord,

abounding in love and truth,

turn and take pity on me. R.

Romans 8:26-27 (JB)

A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Romans

The Spirit himself pleads for us in a way that could never be put into words.

The Spirit comes to help us in our weakness. For when we cannot choose words in order to pray properly, the Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words, and God who knows everything in our hearts knows perfectly well what he means, and that the pleas of the saints expressed by the Spirit are according to the mind of God.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Romans 8:26-27 (NRSV)

A reading from the letter of Paul to the Romans

The Spirit helps us in our weakness;

for we do not know how to pray as we ought,

but that very Spirit intercedes

with sighs too deep for words.

And God, who searches the heart,

knows what is the mind of the Spirit,

because the Spirit intercedes for the saints

according to the will of God.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

cf Matthew 11:25 (JB)

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;

you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.

Alleluia!

Matthew 11:25 (NRSV)

Alleluia, alleluia!

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;

you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.

Alleluia!

Matthew 13:24-30 (JB)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Let them grow together until the harvest.

Jesus put a parable before the crowds, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”‘

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 13:24-43 (JB)

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Let them grow together until the harvest.

Jesus put a parable before the crowds, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel all among the wheat, and made off. When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, the darnel appeared as well. The owner’s servants went to him and said, “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” “Some enemy has done this” he answered. And the servants said, “Do you want us to go and weed it out?” But he said, “No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn.”‘

He put another parable before them, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the biggest shrub of all and becomes a tree so that the birds of the air come and shelter in its branches.’

He told them another parable, ‘The kingdom of heaven is like the yeast a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour till it was leavened all through.’

In all this Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables; indeed he would never speak to them except in parables. This was to fulfil the prophecy:

I will speak to you in parables

and expound things hidden since the foundation of the world.

Then, leaving the crowds, he went to the house; and his disciples came to him and said, ‘Explain the parable about the darnel in the field to us.’ He said in reply, ‘The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world; the good seed is the subjects of the kingdom; the darnel, the subjects of the evil one; the enemy who sowed them, the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; the reapers are the angels. Well then, just as the darnel is gathered up and burnt in the fire, so it will be at the end of time. The Son of Man will send his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that provoke offences and all who do evil, and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. Then the virtuous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Listen, anyone who has ears!’

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 13:24-30 (NRSV)

A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew

Jesus put before the crowds a parable:

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared

to someone who sowed good seed in his field;

but while everybody was asleep,

an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.

“So when the plants came up and bore grain,

then the weeds appeared as well.

And the slaves of the householder came and said to him,

‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?

Where, then, did these weeds come from?’

He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’

The slaves said to him,

‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’

But he replied, ‘No;

for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.

Let both of them grow together until the harvest;

and at harvest time I will tell the reapers,

Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned,

but gather the wheat into my barn.'”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 13:24-43 (NRSV)

A reading from the holy gospel according to Matthew

Jesus put before the crowds a parable:

“The kingdom of heaven may be compared

to someone who sowed good seed in his field;

but while everybody was asleep,

an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away.

“So when the plants came up and bore grain,

then the weeds appeared as well.

And the slaves of the householder came and said to him,

‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?

Where, then, did these weeds come from?’

He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’

The slaves said to him,

‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’

But he replied, ‘No;

for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.

Let both of them grow together until the harvest;

and at harvest time I will tell the reapers,

Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned,

but gather the wheat into my barn.'”

Jesus put before them another parable:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed

that someone took and sowed in his field;

it is the smallest of all the seeds,

but when it has grown

it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree,

so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

He told them another parable:

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast

that a woman took and mixed in with three measures of flour

until all of it was leavened.”

Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables;

without a parable he told them nothing.

This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet:

“I will open my mouth to speak in parables;

I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”

Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house.

And his disciples approached him, saying,

“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”

He answered,

“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;

the field is the world,

and the good seed are the children of the kingdom;

the weeds are the children of the evil one,

and the enemy who sowed them is the devil;

the harvest is the end of the age,

and the reapers are angels.

“Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire,

so will it be at the end of the age.

The Son of Man will send his angels,

and they will collect out of his kingdom

all causes of sin and all evildoers,

and they will throw them into the furnace of fire,

where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

Let anyone with ears listen!”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.