Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Today the Church celebrates the Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The assigned readings are Wisdom 12:13, 16-19; Romans 8:26-27; and Matthew 13:24-43. The Responsorial Psalm is Psalm 86 (Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16).

For one version of the Responsorial Psalm set to music, please visit:

YouTube: Responsorial Psalm Ps 65 Thanksgiving to God's Blessings 

The Gospel reading is as follows:

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying: "The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?' He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, 'First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.''"

He proposed another parable to them. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'"

He spoke to them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened."

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: 'I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.'

Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear."

Reflections on these readings:

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Salesian Sunday Reflections: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 23, 2017)

Oblates of St. Francis de Sales: Sundays Salesian: 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (July 23, 2017)

Community in Mission: Saint or Ain’t? A Homily for the 16th Sunday of the Year (22 JUL 17)

The Sacred Page: Hypocrites in the Church: Readings for 16th Sunday of OT (19 JUL 17)

The Sacred Page: The Parables of Jesus - Part 2 (The Mass Readings Explained) (17 JUL 17)

Aleteia: Deacon Greg Kandra: Weeds among wheat: Homily for July 23, 2017, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time (22 JUl 17)

Word on Fire: Wheat, Seed, and Leaven (Cycle A * Ordinary Time * Week 16)

Catholic World Report: The Dispatch: Weeds, Seeds, and the Kingdom of Heaven (22 JUL 17) 

Spirituality of the Readings: Weeding (Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time A)

In Exile: Thionking Small (Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time A
)

Let the Scriptures Speak: Cracking a Parable (Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time A)

The Word Embodied: In Our Weakness (Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time A
)

Historical Cultural Context: Enemies And Retaliation (Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time A)

Thoughts from the Early Church: Commentary by Gregory Palamas (Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time A
)