Readings

First Reading
Jer 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13

They have forsaken me, the source of living waters; they have dug tehmselves broken cisterns.

A reading from the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah

This word of the LORD came to me:
   Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear!

   I remember the devotion of your youth,
      how you loved me as a bride,
   Following me in the desert,
      in a land unsown.
   Sacred to the LORD was Israel,
      the first fruits of his harvest;
   Should any presume to partake of them,
      evil would befall them, says the LORD.

   When I brought you into the garden land
      to eat its goodly fruits,
   You entered and defiled my land,
      you made my heritage loathsome.
   The priests asked not,
      “Where is the LORD?”
   Those who dealt with the law knew me not:
      the shepherds rebelled against me.
   The prophets prophesied by Baal,
      and went after useless idols.

   Be amazed at this, O heavens,
      and shudder with sheer horror, says the LORD.
   Two evils have my people done:
      they have forsaken me, the source of living waters;
   They have dug themselves cisterns,
      broken cisterns, that hold no water.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 36:6-7ab, 8-9, 10-11

R. :

℟. (10a) With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

O LORD, your mercy reaches to heaven;
   your faithfulness, to the clouds.
Your justice is like the mountains of God;
   your judgments, like the mighty deep.

℟. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

How precious is your mercy, O God!
   The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house;
   from your delightful stream you give them to drink.

℟. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

For with you is the fountain of life,
   and in your light we see light.
Keep up your mercy toward your friends,
   your just defense of the upright of heart.

℟. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

Acclamation before the Gospel
Mt 11:25

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

℟. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Mt 13:10-17

Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to t hem it has not been granted.

✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
   “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
   “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
   has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
   from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
   they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

   You shall indeed hear but not understand
      you shall indeed look but never see.
   Gross is the heart of this people,
      they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their
      eyes, lest they see with their eyes
      and hear with their ears
   and understand with their heart and be converted,
      and I heal them.

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
   and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
   longed to see what you see but did not see it,
   and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

At the end of the Gospel, the Deacon, or the Priest, acclaims:

The Gospel of the Lord.

All reply:

Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Then he kisses the book, saying quietly:

Through the words of the Gospel
may our sins be wiped away.