FIRST
READING: Jeremiah
3: 14 - 17
14
Return, O faithless children, says the LORD; for I am your master; I
will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will
bring you to Zion.
15
"`And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will
feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16
And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those
days, says the LORD, they shall no more say, "The ark of the
covenant of the LORD." It shall not come to mind, or be
remembered, or missed; it shall not be made again.
17
At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and
all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in
Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil
heart.
PSALM:
Jeremiah 31:
10 - 13
10
"Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the
coastlands afar off; say, `He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.'
11
For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too
strong for him.
12
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall
be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine,
and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life
shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.
13
Then shall the maidens rejoice in the dance, and the young men and
the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will
comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
GOSPEL:
Matthew 13:
18 - 23
18
"Hear then the parable of the sower.
19
When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand
it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart;
this is what was sown along the path.
20
As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is he who hears the word
and immediately receives it with joy;
21
yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when
tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately
he falls away.
22
As for what was sown among thorns, this is he who hears the word, but
the cares of the world and the delight in riches choke the word, and
it proves unfruitful.
23
As for what was sown on good soil, this is he who hears the word and
understands it; he indeed bears fruit, and yields, in one case a
hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."
