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First Reading: Jer 15:10, 16 – 21
Woe to me, mother, that you gave me birth!
a man of strife and contention to all the land!
I neither borrow nor lend,
yet all curse me.
When I found your words, I devoured them;
they became my joy and the happiness of my heart,
Because I bore your name,
O LORD, God of hosts.
I did not sit celebrating
in the circle of merrymakers;
Under the weight of your hand I sat alone
because you filled me with indignation.
Why is my pain continuous,
my wound incurable, refusing to be healed?
You have indeed become for me a treacherous brook,
whose waters do not abide!
Thus the LORD answered me:
If you repent, so that I restore you,
in my presence you shall stand;
If you bring forth the precious without the vile,
you shall be my mouthpiece.
Then it shall be they who turn to you,
and you shall not turn to them;
And I will make you toward this people
a solid wall of brass.
Though they fight against you,
they shall not prevail,
For I am with you,
to deliver and rescue you, says the LORD.
I will free you from the hand of the wicked,
and rescue you from the grasp of the violent.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 59:2 –3, 4, 10–11, 17, 18
R./ God is my refuge on the day of distress.
Rescue me from my enemies, O my God;
from my adversaries defend me.
Rescue me from evildoers;
from bloodthirsty men save me.
R./ God is my refuge on the day of distress.
For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
mighty men come together against me,
Not for any offense or sin of mine, O LORD.
R./ God is my refuge on the day of distress.
O my strength! for you I watch;
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
As for my God, may his mercy go before me;
may he show me the fall of my foes.
R./ God is my refuge on the day of distress.
But I will sing of your strength
and revel at dawn in your mercy;
You have been my stronghold,
my refuge in the day of distress.
R./ God is my refuge on the day of distress.
O my strength! your praise will I sing;
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
my merciful God!
R./ God is my refuge on the day of distress.
Gospel Reading: Matthew 13:44-46
Jesus said to his disciples:
"The Kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,
which a person finds and hides again,
and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
Again, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls.
When he finds a pearl of great price,
he goes and sells all that he has and buys it."
Wednesday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time
THE GOOD SOIL OF LIFE
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you implant in our hearts
the good seeds of your word
and water it with your grace.
Let the good soil of our hearts
be receptive to each word
that you speak to us
in the Gospel, in the events of life,
in each good person we encounter.
Help us to yield a rich harvest
of integrity, compassion, and love,
by the power of Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord for ever.
Liturgy of the Word
Introduction to the First Reading
Jeremiah states in the story of his special calling by God that it is God himself who has given him his mission to speak out as a prophet. God even remedies his inadequacy. He is the mouthpiece of God.
Introduction to the Gospel
God looks for good soil to sow his seeds of life. Do we have the hearts of stone in which nothing grows? Or hearts, open to the Good News, but so overgrown with weeds of constant worrying about the cares of life and things that do not matter, that no time is left to cultivate the growth in us of God's life and love? Let us ask in this Eucharist that we may yield a rich harvest, like the prophet Jeremiah.
General Intercessions
– For those who spread the Good News: pastors and missionaries, catechists and teachers, that they may keep sowing the seed even when they see no harvest yet, we pray:
– For farmers who sow and plant, that God may give them good weather and harvest and that we may be grateful for their work, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may not let the cares of life choke the Word of God in us but that we may be open to God's message and live it constantly, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
the harvest in our fields
has yielded its fruits
and here is bread and wine
to bring us strength and joy.
Let them become the body and blood
of Jesus, your Son,
to keep us growing in the life
that he brought us by his death
and his rising to life,
until we are ready for your harvest.
Grant us this through Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
God, good sower,
in this Eucharist, you have let your Son sow again
the seed of the Good News.
Do not allow the worries of life
to overgrow your good gifts
nor to let your life be strangled in us.
Let each of us and all your Church
be the good soil in which grows
all that you have planted,
that when you walk in your field,
you may smile at the promise
of a rich harvest,
on account of Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
"A sower went out to sow." On what kind of soil do we let it fall in us? Maybe at times it is receptive and ready, other times less so. May God's word never remain unanswered in us. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
