God knows our whole being.

Those who ask for his grace with confidence will not be disappointed.

Ask him to give you all you need.

 

St. Sharbel Makhluf, priest

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Exodus 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b

Exactly two months

After the Israelites had left Egypt, they arrived at the wilderness of Sinai.

They arrived there coming from Rephidim and camped in the wilderness of Sinai.

The Lord spoke to Moses, "I am going to come to you in a dense cloud so that the people may hear me

speaking with you and trust you always." Then Moses related to the Lord what the people had said.

 

Again the Lord spoke to Moses, "Go to the people and have them sanctified today and tomorrow;

let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day.

For on the third day the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.

 

On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning and a dense cloud over the mountain,

and a very loud trumpet blast was heard. All the people in the camp trembled.

Moses then made the people leave the camp to meet God and stand at the foot of the mountain.

 

Mount Sinai was completely covered in smoke because the Lord had come down in fire,

and the smoke rose as from a furnace. The whole mountain shook violently,

while the blast of the trumpet became louder and louder. Moses spoke and God replied in thunder.

When the Lord had come down to the summit of Mount Sinai, God called Moses who went to the summit.

 

Dn 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56 Glory and praise for ever!

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 13:10-17

Then his disciples came to him and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"

Jesus answered, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven,

but not to these people. For the one who has will be given more; and he will have in abundance.

But the one who does not have will be deprived of even what he has.

That is why I speak to them in parables; because they look and do not see;

they hear; but they do not listen or understand.

 

In them, the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled: However much you hear,

you do not understand; however much you see, you do not perceive.

For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears hardly hear and their eyes dare not see.

If they were to see with their eyes, hear with their ears and understand with their heart,

they would turn back, and I would heal them.

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

For I tell you, many prophets and righteous people have longed to see the things you see,

but they did not see them; and to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear them.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"Hear, but do not listen or understand."

Why did Jesus teach in parables? Parables are teaching stories that are rich in imagery,

and images communicate far more than direct statements.

The parable is therefore deliberately enigmatic. It demands that we chew upon the details of the story to draw out the meaning,

a meaning which is ever new. This is why the parables have nourished the life of the Church ever since they were first spoken by our Lord.

 

The ruminating upon the story gets us involved in a way that mere information can never do.

But if a parable needs careful listening and time for reflection, it also needs a context to help the listener understand.

The great context of Christ's parables is the coming of God's Kingdom and our readiness to be a part of that Kingdom as God's faithful servants.

Without a fundamental openness to God and without a desire for his Kingdom, "however much you hear, you [will] not understand."

This is the difference between the disciples and the crowd, who "hear, but do not listen or understand."

Fruitful prayer with the parables needs the fundamental desire for God and his Kingdom. This opens our eyes and ears.