16th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday, Year II

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In today’s Gospel Our Lord teaches us that evil will be present in the world until the last days of Judgement, when its fruits are measured. Since evil festers in peoples’ hearts, it is not always seen on the surface. Things may seem to be okay, even normal, but, just as good is at work in the world, like the wheat, trying to grow into something good, evil is at work doing the opposite, preying on the good in parasitic way to serve nothing other than itself, like a weed.

Jeremiah’s in today’s First Reading is sent to the Temple itself to warn Israel that they are being weeds, not wheat, in the sight of the Lord. They’re counting on the Lord to never abandon them, but the Lord is warning them that he’ll do exactly that if they do not amend their ways. This warning reminds us that while we live on this earth we can become wheat, not matter how long we’ve been weeds,or vice versa. Our Lord doesn’t just help believers to become wheat; through our testimony, and his, of an upright and moral life and the difference between right and wrong, without sophisms, we help everyone to go beyond appearances and examine the forces in this world that are truly good and truly evil.

Jeremiah today warns us that we can appear observant while still being a weed. Ask Our Lord today to help you go beyond appearances, deep into the roots of your soul, and become a source of good fruit again if you’ve strayed.

Readings: Jeremiah 7:1–11; Psalm 84:3–6a, 8a, 11; Matthew 13:24–30.

16th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday, Year II

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Today’s First Reading from Jeremiah shows that a prophecy, being the Word of God, not only speaks to its first listeners, but to all its listeners. Jeremiah describes a future Jerusalem shepherded by good and holy leaders, and a future where the Ark of the Covenant would lose the prominence it had among the Israelites. Why mention the Ark? First, because in that moment of its history the Israelites were in danger of idolatrizing the Ark and the Temple as a guarantee that the Lord would be with them and defend them whether they were pleasing to him or not (he wouldn’t). Second, because the Ark was the core of their belief in the Lord being among them and the Lord interacting with them; drawing close to the Ark meant drawing close to the Lord, which is why it was kept in the heart of the Temple.

In a future renewed Jerusalem the Lord wouldn’t use an Ark; he would use all of Jerusalem as his throne, not just the top of the Ark, known as the mercy seat where the glory of the Lord used to rest while appearing to Moses. As the Ark was to Israel now the entire city of Jerusalem would be, a more majestic and imposing presence of the Lord amidst his People. The Church has been described in the Book of Revelation as the Heavenly Jerusalem. Even as Jeremiah was describing a renewed and restored Jerusalem he was also describing the Church, guided by good and holy pastors, and the Mystical Body of Christ, a presence of the Lord amidst his people unprecedented in salvation history.

The Lord has committed himself to us unconditionally. Let’s respond in kind.

Readings: Jeremiah 3:14–17; Jeremiah 31:10–12d, 13; Matthew 13:18–23. See also 24th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday and 16th Week in Ordinary Time, Friday.

16th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday, Year II

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Where there is water there is life. Any agricultural community will tell you that their livelihood depends on having a good and constant water supply. The Lord in today’s First Reading describes what he has to offer Israel in terms of an unending water supply: “living” water flows, it is not just still water stored in a cistern. Israel not only stopped drawing from the Lord as the source of life; they forgot about him completely after he had loved and protected them in the desert like a bridegroom and led them to a “garden land.”

The Lord is the source of our life. No substitutes. The Israelites in today’s First Reading tried to replace him with cisterns for holding water that didn’t even work. Anyone who has lived in a drought knows how the life simply dries up and withers with the lack of water: green plants turn to brown, livestock dies, and the earth dries and cracks, becoming inhospitable for planting. We must always stay close to the source of our life. Every bit of clean water we see should remind us of the day of our baptism when the Lord adopted us as his sons and daughters. He established a living flow of grace in us that only dries up if we distance ourselves from him, its Source.

If life seems a little dry or you are in full drought, seek out its Source. He is much closed than you think.

Readings: Jeremiah 2:1–3, 7–8, 12–13; Psalm 36:6–7b, 8–11; Matthew 13:10–17. See also 24th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday and 16th Week in Ordinary Time, Thursday.

16th Week in Ordinary Time, Wednesday, Year II

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Today’s Gospel is the Parable of the Sower, and, as we’ll see in a few days, the seed being sown is the Word of God trying to make its way into a soul. In today’s First Reading, the beginning of the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, we see Jeremiah recalling when the Word of God was first “sown” into him and all the reservations he had about becoming the Lord’s prophet. This is normal. When the Lord asks something of us, something that inevitably requires the cross, we get nervous and start raising possible objections. This is simply the seed burrowing in and starting to take root.

If we use the language of today’s Gospel in considering today’s conversation between the Lord and Jeremiah we see that we shouldn’t be afraid of welcoming and nourishing the seed of God’s Word, because God has sown it for a good purpose and he will continue to watch over the soil and cultivate it. Jeremiah was young and inexperienced, but the Lord would be with him and all Jeremiah had to do was follow his commands and speak his words.

Don’t be afraid of welcoming the Word of God into your heart. He may ask for something demanding, but he’ll be with you every step of the way and he has plans for something good to grow out of your generosity and sacrifice.

Readings: Jeremiah 1:1, 4–10; Psalm 71:1–4a, 5–6b, 15, 17; Matthew 13:1–9. See also 24th Week in Ordinary Time, Saturday.

16th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday, Year II

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In today’s First Reading the prophet Micah now speaks on behalf of Israel to God instead of the other way around. Israel prays for reconciliation with the Lord and expresses trust in his mercy. They use the image of being sheep cared for by a shepherd; the language of their prayer shows their willingness to docilely submit themselves in humility to the Lord’s will knowing that he doesn’t just make demands, but cares for them, just as they recall he did with their forefathers, the Patriarchs. Israel feels the weight of their sins, which is why they describe the Lord liberating them from sin as tossing something into the ocean: a great weight will sink into the depths of the sea and be forgotten.

If there’s one thing our society frowns upon, it’s submitting to anyone. Humility is not in great demand, unless we expect others to be humble and submit to what we want. It is easier to learn humility if we concentrate on being led by the Lord. This only makes sense if we see what a Good Shepherd he has been to us in his Son. Being led by him into greener pastures is something that starts right now.

If you’ve strayed from Our Lord don’t be afraid to draw closer to him, trusting in his mercy, so that he can lead you once again to greener pastures.

Readings: Micah 7:14–15, 18–20; Psalm 85:2–8; Matthew 12:46–50. See also 16th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday and 25th Week in Ordinary Time, Tuesday.