Mass Readings

First Reading – Is 55:10-11

Thus says the LORD: Just as from the heavens the rain and snow come down and do not return there till they have watered the earth, making it fertile and fruitful, giving seed to the one who sows and bread to the one who eats, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; My word shall not return to Me void, but shall do My will, achieving the end for which I sent it.

Responsorial Psalm – Ps 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14 (R.Lk 8:8)

R. The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.

You have visited the land and watered it;
greatly have You enriched it.
God’s watercourses are filled;
You have prepared the grain. R.

Thus have You prepared the land: drenching its furrows,
breaking up its clods,
Softening it with showers,
blessing its yield. R.

You have crowned the year with Your bounty,
and Your paths overflow with a rich harvest;
The untilled meadows overflow with it,
and rejoicing clothes the hills. R.

The fields are garmented with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain.
They shout and sing for joy. R.

Second Reading – Rom 8:18-23

Brothers and sisters: I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God; for creation was made subject to futility, not of its own accord but because of the one who subjected it, in hope that creation itself would be set free from slavery to corruption and share in the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we also groan within ourselves as we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.

Gospel – Mt 13:1-23 or Mt 13:1-9

[On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And He spoke to them at length in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”]  The disciples approached Him and said, “Why do you speak to them 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.  “Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

Featured Saints

This year, Sunday takes precedence over the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. On this day in 1251, the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock, in Aylesford, England, entrusting the brown scapular to him. Under this title, the Carmelites venerate the Mother of God, for it was on Mount Carmel that the Prophet Elijah beheld the small cloud that represented Her. On this Mount the Carmelite Order has its earliest roots, being first constituted by hermits dedicated to contemplation.

St. Athenogenes, bishop and martyr (†c. 305). He endured the terrible martyrdom of being burned alive in Sebaste, Armenia, leaving as an inheritance to his flock a hymn to the Holy Spirit.

St. Mary Magdalen Postel, virgin (†1846). During the French Revolution, she used her goods to help the sick and the faithful. After peace was established, she founded the Congregation of the Daughters of Mercy in Saint-Sauveur-leVicomte, France.

St. Teresa Zhang Hezhi, martyr (†1900). Executed by lances along with her two sons during the Boxer persecution in China for refusing to adore local divinities.

Blessed Aimée of Jesus de Gordon, virgin, and companions, martyrs (†1794). Having refused to abandon religious life, they were condemned and guillotined in Orange during the French Revolution.

Blessed Ermengard, abbess (†866). Great-granddaughter Charlemagne; while still young, she abandoned the splendours of the court to enter the Monastery of Chiemsee, Bavaria, of which she became abbess.

Blessed Bartholomew of the Martyrs, bishop (†1590). Dominican religious elected Archbishop of Braga, Portugal; he wrote various spiritual and theological works.

Blesseds André de Soveral, priest, and Domingos Carvalho, layman, martyrs (†1645). Massacred by Dutch Calvinist soldiers close to Natal, Brazil, as Fr. André, a Jesuit, was celebrating Mass.

Blesseds John Sugar, priest, and Robert Grissold, layman, martyrs (†1604). Tortured and killed during the reign of James I of England, the first for having exercised the priestly ministry in England, and the second for assisting him.

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Our Lady of Mount Carmel

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