First Reading

Reading from the prophet Jeremiah

Jeremiah 14, 17-22

Let my eyes weep without ceasing day and night,
because the capital of my people is afflicted by a great disaster,
by a very serious wound.
If I go out to the field, I find people dead by the sword;
if I enter the city, I find people dying of hunger.
Even the prophets and the priests
wander through the land and do not know what to do.

Have you rejected, Lord, Judah?
Or have you already grown tired of Zion?
Why have you wounded us so gravely,
that we have no remedy?
We hoped for peace and there is only disturbance;
we hoped for healing and we only find fear.

We acknowledge, Lord, our wickedness
and the sins of our fathers;
we have sinned against you.
Because you are who you are, do not reject us;
do not dishonor the throne of your glory.
Remember, Lord, your covenant with us
and do not break it.
Can the idols of the pagans make it rain?
Can the heavens, by themselves, give us rain?
You alone, Lord and our God, do all these things,
therefore in you we have placed our hope.

Gospel

Reading from the holy gospel according to Saint Matthew

Matthew 13, 36-43

At that time, Jesus dismissed the crowd and went to his house. Then his disciples approached him and said to him: «Explain to us the parable of the weeds sown in the field».

Jesus answered them: «The sower of the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the good seed are the citizens of the Kingdom; the weeds are the followers of the devil; the enemy who sows them is the devil; the time of the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels.

And just as they gather the weeds and burn them in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world: the Son of Man will send his angels to remove from his Kingdom all those who lead others into sin and all the wicked, and throw them into the blazing furnace. There will be weeping and despair. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear».