FIRST READING
They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out broken cisterns for themselves.
A reading from the Book of Jeremiah (Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13)
It happened that the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord, I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holy to the LORD, the first fruits of his harvest. All who ate of it became guilty; evil came upon them, says the Lord. “And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after things that do not profit. “Be appalled, O heavens, at this, be shocked, be utterly desolate, says the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”
The word of the Lord
RESPONSORIAL Psalm 36:6—7ab.8-9.10-11 (R. 10a)
R/. With you, O Lord, is the fountain of life.
Your mercy, Lord, reaches to heaven,
your truth to the clouds.
Your justice is like God’s mountains;
like the great deep, your judgements. R.
How precious is your mercy, O God!
The children of men seek shelter
in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on the riches of your house;
you give them drink from the stream of your delight. R.
For with you is the fountain of life,
and in your light we see light.
Maintain your mercy for those who know you,
your saving justice to upright hearts. R.
ALLELUIA Matthew 1 1:25
Alleluia. Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 13: 10-17)
At that time: The disciples came and said to Jesus, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them. ’ “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Today’s Reflection
In the first reading, God laments the backsliding attitude of the Israelites who had gone cold in their relationship with him. Jesus reassures his disciples that they have been given the privilege of the knowledge of the kingdom of heaven that is hidden from other people. This however, places a heavy responsibility on them to justify this rare privilege by living up to the demands of the kingdom. By virtue of our baptism, we have been given the privilege of sharing the life of Christ as adopted sons and daughters of God and co heirs with Christ of God’s kingdom. How do we justify this kind gesture in our daily lives?