Daily Mass Readings – Saturday, 24 July 2027

3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice: We will do all the words of the Lord, which he hath spoken.

4 And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord: and rising in the morning he built an altar at the foot of the mount, and twelve titles according to the twelve tribes of Israel.

5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, and they offered holocausts, and sacrificed pacific victims of calves to the Lord.

6 Then Moses took half of the blood, and put it into bowls: and the rest he poured upon the altar.

7 And taking the book of the covenant, he read it in the hearing of the people: and they said: All things that the Lord hath spoken we will do, we will be obedient.

8 And he took the blood and sprinkled it upon the people, and he said: This is the blood of the covenant which the Lord hath made with you concerning all these words.

R. (14a) Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.

1b The God of gods, the Lord hath spoken: and he hath called the earth. From the rising of the sun, to the going down thereof:

2 Out of Sion the loveliness of his beauty.

R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.

5 Gather ye together his saints to him: who set his covenant before sacrifices.

6 And the heavens shall declare his justice: for God is judge.

R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.

14 Offer to God the sacrifice of praise: and pay thy vows to the most High.

15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

21bc Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you and is able to save your souls.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

24 Another parable he proposed to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seeds in his field.

25 But while men were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed cockle among the wheat and went his way.

26 And when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle.

27 And the servants of the goodman of the house coming said to him: Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it cockle?

28 And he said to them: An enemy hath done this. And the servants said to him: Wilt thou that we go and gather it up?

29 And he said: No, lest perhaps gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it.

30 Suffer both to grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my barn.

At Sinai, Israel receives God’s word as a covenant. The people answer together, “We will do all the words of the Lord,” and the covenant is sealed with blood. Their promise is more than admiration for God’s teaching; it is a commitment to live by it. The psalm gives that commitment a voice through praise, faithful vows, and trust in God’s help when trouble comes.

Jesus shows that the word planted by God grows in a field where good and evil are found together. The servants want to remove the weeds immediately, but the master tells them to wait until the harvest, lest the wheat be damaged. Faithfulness therefore requires both seriousness and patience: we must welcome the word, nourish it through obedience and praise, and resist the urge to take God’s final judgment into our own hands. God sees what is growing, and at the proper time he will distinguish what belongs in his barn. Until then, our task is to let the covenant shape our lives and to protect the good seed entrusted to us.

Lord God, plant your word deeply within me and make my life faithful to your covenant. Give me a willing heart to obey you, a grateful spirit to offer praise, and patience when good and evil appear together. Keep me from judging hastily or trying to control the harvest that belongs to you. Strengthen what is true and holy in me, and help me encourage its growth through prayer, mercy, and steadfastness. When trouble comes, teach me to call upon you with confidence, trusting that you see all things and will bring your work to fulfillment. Amen.