1ST READING
The parents of Mary must have been very proud of her when they eventually understood the role she was playing in the work of salvation. I wonder how they handled the news that she was pregnant (outside of marriage) and the subsequent explanation Mary gave them? It would not have been easy for any of them to accept and understand Mary’s plight. Hopefully we will have compassion when we face similarly difficult situations in our own lives.
Jeremiah 2:1-3, 7-8, 12-13 (or Sirach 44:1, 10-15)
1 This word of the Lord came to me: 2 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. 3 Sacred to the Lord was Israel, the first fruits of his harvest; should anyone presume to partake of them, evil would befall him, says the Lord. 7 When I brought you into the garden land to eat its goodly fruits, you entered and defiled my land, you made my heritage loathsome. 8 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. 12 Be amazed at this, O heavens, and shudder with sheer horror, says the Lord. 13 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.
P S A L M
Psalm 36:6-7, 8-9, 10-11 (or Psalm 132:11, 13-14, 17-18)
R: With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.
5 [6] O Lord, your mercy reaches to heaven; your faithfulness, to the clouds. 6 [7] Your justice is like the mountains of God; your judgments, like the mighty deep. (R) 7 [8] How precious is your mercy, O God! The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings. 8 [9] They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house; from your delightful stream you give them to drink. (R) 9 [10] For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light we see light. 10 [11] Keep up your mercy toward your friends, your just defense of the upright of heart. (R)
GOSPEL
We do not always understand everything about the situations in our lives. This is a fact that we have to learn to live with. It may not be easy, but sometimes it might be easier not to know all the details before we get into something for God. If we know them we might be too scared to follow His will. Indeed, there are times when ignorance (in a good sense) may well be bliss!
GOSPEL ACCLAMATION
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
Matthew 13:10-17 (or Matthew 13:16-17)
10 The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?’ 11 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. 12 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. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.’ 14 Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see. 15 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 heart and be converted, and I heal them.’ 16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. 17 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.”
think: There are times when ignorance (in a good sense) may well be bliss!
T O D A Y’S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________
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God’s special verse/thought for me today________________
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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Judith 13-16
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