First Reading

The Book of Jeremiah (Jer 18: 1-6)

Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand.

This word came to Jeremiah from the LORD:
Rise up, be off to the potter’s house;
there I will give you my message.
I went down to the potter’s house and there he was,
working at the wheel.
Whenever the object of clay which he was making
turned out badly in his hand,
he tried again,
making of the clay another object of whatever sort he pleased.
Then the word of the LORD came to me:
Can I not do to you, house of Israel,
as this potter has done? says the LORD.
Indeed, like clay in the hand of the potter,
so are you in my hand, house of Israel.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 146: 1b-2, 3-4, 5-6ab

Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.

Praise the LORD, O my soul;
I will praise the LORD all my life;
I will sing praise to my God while I live.

Put not your trust in princes,
in the sons of men, in whom there is no salvation.
When his spirit departs he returns to his earth;
on that day his plans perish.

Blessed he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the LORD, his God.
Who made heaven and earth,
the sea and all that is in them.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

Open our heart, O Lord, to listen to the words of your Son.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 13: 47-53)

They put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away.

Jesus said to the disciples:

“The Kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea,
which collects fish of every kind.
When it is full they haul it ashore
and sit down to put what is good into buckets.
What is bad they throw away.
Thus it will be at the end of the age.
The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous
and throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.”

“Do you understand all these things?”

They answered,

“Yes.”

And he replied,

“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of heaven
is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom
both the new and the old.”

When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

The Book of Jeremiah (Jer 15: 10, 16-21)

Why is my pain continuous. If you repent, in my presence you shall stand.

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.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 59: 2-3, 4, 10-11, 17, 18

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.

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.

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.

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.

O my strength! your praise will I sing;
for you, O God, are my stronghold,
my merciful God!

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

I call you my friends, says the Lord, for I have made known to you all that the Father has told me.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 13:44-46)

He goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

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.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.

First Reading

The Book of Jeremiah (Jer 14: 17-22)

Remember your covenant with us, and break it not.

Let my eyes stream with tears
day and night, without rest,
Over the great destruction which overwhelms
the virgin daughter of my people,
over her incurable wound.
If I walk out into the field,
look! those slain by the sword;
If I enter the city,
look! those consumed by hunger.
Even the prophet and the priest
forage in a land they know not.

Have you cast Judah off completely?
Is Zion loathsome to you?
Why have you struck us a blow
that cannot be healed?
We wait for peace, to no avail;
for a time of healing, but terror comes instead.
We recognize, O LORD, our wickedness,
the guilt of our fathers;
that we have sinned against you.
For your name’s sake spurn us not,
disgrace not the throne of your glory;
remember your covenant with us, and break it not.
Among the nations’ idols is there any that gives rain?
Or can the mere heavens send showers?
Is it not you alone, O LORD,
our God, to whom we look?
You alone have done all these things.

— The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 79: 8, 9, 11 and 13

For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.

Remember not against us the iniquities of the past;
may your compassion quickly come to us,
for we are brought very low.

Help us, O God our savior,
because of the glory of your name;
Deliver us and pardon our sins
for your name’s sake.

Let the prisoners’ sighing come before you;
with your great power free those doomed to death.
Then we, your people and the sheep of your pasture,
will give thanks to you forever;
through all generations we will declare your praise.

Gospel

Alleluia, alleluia.

The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever.

Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Matthew (Mt 13: 36-43)

Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,

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

He said in reply,

“He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as 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 who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

— The Gospel of the Lord.