Weekday readings are available on the USCCB website.


 

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 19

First Reading (Wis 12:13, 16-19)

There is no god besides you who have the care of all,
that you need show you have not unjustly condemned.
For your might is the source of justice;
your mastery over all things makes you lenient to all.
For you show your might when the perfection of your power is disbelieved;
and in those who know you, you rebuke temerity.
But though you are master of might, you judge with clemency,
and with much lenience you govern us;
for power, whenever you will, attends you.
And you taught your people, by these deeds,
that those who are just must be kind;
and you gave your children good ground for hope
that you would permit repentance for their sins.



Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16)

You, O LORD, are good and forgiving,
abounding in kindness to all who call upon you.
Hearken, O LORD, to my prayer
and attend to the sound of my pleading.

All the nations you have made shall come
and worship you, O LORD,
and glorify your name.
For you are great, and you do wondrous deeds;
you alone are God.

You, O LORD, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in kindness and fidelity.
Turn toward me, and have pity on me;
give your strength to your servant.

R.    Lord, you are good and forgiving.



Second Reading (Romans 8:26-27)

Brothers and sisters:
The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we ought,
but the Spirit himself intercedes with inexpressible groanings.
And the one who searches hearts
knows what is the intention of the Spirit,
because he intercedes for the holy ones
according to God’s will.



Alleluia (cf. Matthew 11:25)

Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the kingdom.



Gospel (Matthew 13:24-43)

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:
“The kingdom of heaven may be likened
to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him,
‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

He proposed another parable to them.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed
that a person took and sowed in a field.
It is the smallest of all the seeds,
yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants.
It becomes a large bush,
and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”

He spoke to them another parable.
“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast
that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened.”

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables.
He spoke to them only in parables,
to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.

Then, dismissing the crowds, he 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.”



Offertory Antiphon (Psalm 19: 9-12, 2-3, 4-5, 6, 7)

The judgments of the Lord are right;
they gladden the heart,
and are sweeter than honey and the honeycomb:
And so your servant shall keep them.

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands.
Day unto day conveys the message,
and night unto night imparts the knowledge.

No speech, no word, whose voice goes unheeded;
their sound goes forth through all the earth,
their message to the utmost bounds of the world.

There he has placed a tent for the sun;
it comes forth like a bridegroom coming from his tent,
rejoices like a champion to run his course.

At one end of the heavens is the rising of the sun;
to its furthest end it runs its course.
There is nothing concealed from its burning heat.



Communion Antiphon (John 6:52; Psalm 111:1bc-10)

R.     The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.

I will praise the LORD with all my heart,
in the meeting of the just and the assembly.
Great are the works of the LORD,
to be pondered by all who delight in them.

Majestic and glorious his work;
his justice stands firm forever.
He has given us a memorial of his wonders.
The LORD is gracious and merciful.

He gives food to those who fear him;
keeps his covenant ever in mind.
His mighty works he has shown to his people
by giving them the heritage of nations.

His handiwork is justice and truth;
his precepts are all of them sure,
standing firm forever and ever,
wrought in uprightness and truth.

He has sent redemption to his people,
and established his covenant forever.
Holy his name, to be feared.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
understanding marks all who attain it.
His praise endures forever!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.



Salve, Regina (Hail, Holy Queen)

Acknowledgements