Daily Mass Readings – Thursday, 27 July 2028

1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus saith the Lord: I have remembered thee, pitying thy soul, pitying thy youth, and the love of thy espousals, when thou followedst me in the desert, in a land that is not sown.

3 Israel is holy to the Lord, the first fruits of his increase: all they that devour him offend: evils shall come upon them, saith the Lord.

7 And I brought you into the land of Carmel, to eat the fruit thereof, and the best things thereof: and when ye entered in, you defiled my land, and made my inheritance an abomination.

8 The priests did not say: Where is the Lord? and they that held the law knew me not, and the pastors transgressed against me: and the prophets prophesied in Baal, and followed idols.

12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and ye gates thereof, be very desolate, saith the Lord.

13 For my people have done two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

R. (10a) With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

6 O Lord, thy mercy is in heaven, and thy truth reacheth, even to the clouds.

7ab Thy justice is as the mountains of God, thy judgments are a great deep.

R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

8 O how hast thou multiplied thy mercy, O God! But the children of men shall put their trust under the covert of thy wings.

9 They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure.

R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

10 For with thee is the fountain of life; and in thy light we shall see light.

11 Extend thy mercy to them that know thee, and thy justice to them that are right in heart.

R. With you is the fountain of life, O Lord.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

25 Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.

10 And his disciples came and said to him: Why speakest thou to them in parables?

11 Who answered and said to them: Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven: but to them it is not given.

12 For he that hath, to him shall be given, and he shall abound: but he that hath not, from him shall be taken away that also which he hath.

13 Therefore do I speak to them in parables: because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

14 And the prophecy of Isaias is fulfilled in them, who saith: By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand: and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive.

15 For the heart of this people is grown gross, and with their ears they have been dull of hearing, and their eyes they have shut: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.

16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.

17 For, amen, I say to you, many prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the things that you hear and have not heard them.

God remembers the love with which his people once followed him, yet he speaks honestly about their turning away. They have abandoned the fountain of living water and tried to depend on broken cisterns that cannot satisfy. The psalm answers this sorrow with hope: mercy remains abundant, and with the Lord is the fountain of life. God does not expose our unfaithfulness in order to leave us condemned; he calls us back to the source of life.

Jesus explains that the mysteries of the Kingdom are received by those who truly listen. Seeing and hearing are not enough when the heart has become closed. The Father reveals himself to the little ones—those willing to receive rather than rely on their own certainty. A receptive heart can hear Christ’s word, recognize what must change, and be healed. Today, we can make room for that grace by approaching Scripture without defensiveness and by noticing where we seek fulfillment apart from God. The Lord’s living water is still offered; conversion begins when we stop pretending that the broken cisterns can hold it.

Lord God, fountain of life, turn my heart back to you whenever I seek satisfaction in what cannot endure. Give me the humility of the little ones, ready to listen to your word and receive the mysteries of your Kingdom. Open my eyes to recognize your mercy and my ears to hear the truth that leads to healing. Keep me from becoming dull or resistant when you call me to conversion. Shelter me beneath your wings, nourish me with your grace, and teach me to trust you as the true source of every good gift. Amen.