Lectionary: 398
Reading 1
Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13
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.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 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.
R. 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.
R. 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.
R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
Gospel
Matthew 13:10-17
The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Why do you speak to the crowd 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 hearts 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.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
THEME: ARE YOU LEAKING?
"They have forsaken Me, the Source of living waters; they have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water." –Jeremiah 2:13
Does your life hold water – the living waters of God's grace, baptism, and the Holy Spirit? The patterns that we develop in our lives can be likened to digging cisterns (see Jer 2:13). These patterns will either help us retain and grow in our faith or contribute to an erosion and loss of our faith. For instance, a cistern, or way of life, in which God's Word is not taken authoritatively will usually not hold water for long. A cistern in which the Pope is not obeyed will not hold water amid divisive or confusing circumstances. A cistern permissive toward TV is like a sieve. A cistern which emphasizes celebrating daily Mass and Holy Communion usually holds water even under the worst conditions. A cistern in which Christians live in Biblical community holds water better than any other type of cistern. Those in Christian community are very likely to keep the faith.
Christians are leaking badly. Although we have received rivers of living water (see Jn 7:38), we may be bone-dry. Sometimes we deal with this situation by pumping more living water into our lives. We have spurts of prayer, go to special conferences, or have revivals and renewals. However, the living water soon leaks out of our lives. We need more than additional water; we must fix the leaks, that is, dig an unbroken cistern, by repenting and significantly changing the patterns of our lives.
PRAYER: Father, may I be filled with the Spirit (see Acts 2:4) and stay filled.
PROMISE: "O Lord, Your kindness reaches to heaven; Your faithfulness, to the clouds." –Ps 36:6
PRAISE: St. Sharbel Makhluf was a Lebanese monk who lived as a hermit in poverty, self-sacrifice, and prayer. He traded his previous life for a lifetime of serving Jesus, and thereby discovered who he was (Mt 10:39).
Be an inspiration, kindly Share.
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