15th SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME - A
Lectionary: 103
FIRST READING (Isaiah 55:10-11)
“The rain makes the earth fruitful.”
A reading from the Book of Isaiah
Thus says the LORD:
“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
so shall my word be that goes forth from my mouth;
it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I intend,
and prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM: (Psalm 65:10abcd, 10e–11, 12–13a, 13b–14 (R. Luke 8:8a))
℟ The seed that fell into good soil yielded a hundredfold.
You visit the earth, give it water;
you fill it with riches.
God’s ever-flowing river brims over
to prepare the grain. ℟
And thus you provide for the earth:
you drench its furrows;
you level it, soften it with showers;
you bless its growth. ℟
You crown the year with your bounty.
Abundance flows in your pathways;
in pastures of the desert it flows. ℟
The hills are girded with joy,
the meadows clothed with flocks.
The valleys are decked with wheat.
They shout for joy; yes, they sing! ℟
SECOND READING (Romans 8:9, 11–13 )
“All creation is waiting for the revelation of the sons of God.”
A reading from the Letter of Saint Paul to the Romans
Brethren:
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God;
for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope;
because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning with labour pains together until now;
and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies
The word of the Lord.
Gospel Acclamation (None)
ALLELUIA
℣. Alleluia. ℟. Alleluia.
℣. The seed is the word of God, and the sower is Christ;
all who find him will abide for ever.
℟. Alleluia.
GOSPEL (Matthew 13:1-23)
“A sower went out to sow”
✠ A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew
That same day
Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
And great crowds gathered about him,
so that he got into a boat and sat there,
and the whole crowd stood on the beach.
And he told them many things in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed,
some seeds fell along the path,
and the birds came and devoured them.
Other seeds fell on rocky ground,
where they had not much soil,
and immediately they sprang up,
since they had no depth of soil,
but when the sun rose they were scorched;
and since they had no root they withered away.
Other seeds fell upon thorns,
and the thorns grew up and choked them.
Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain,
some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
He who has ears, let him hear.”
Then the disciples came and said to him,
“Why do you speak to them in parables?”
And he answered them,
“To you it has been given to know
the secrets of the kingdom of heaven,
but to them it has not been given.
For to him who has will more be given,
and he will have abundance;
but from him who has not,
even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables,
because seeing they do not see,
and hearing they do not hear,
nor do they understand.”
The Gospel of the Lord.