Reading 1 Ex 19:1-2, 9-11, 16-20b

In the third month after their departure from the land of Egypt,
on its first day, the children of Israel came to the desert of Sinai.
After the journey from Rephidim to the desert of Sinai,
they pitched camp.

While Israel was encamped here in front of the mountain,
the LORD told Moses,
"I am coming to you in a dense cloud,
so that when the people hear me speaking with you,
they may always have faith in you also."
When Moses, then, had reported to the LORD the response of the people,
the LORD added, "Go to the people
and have them sanctify themselves today and tomorrow.
Make them wash their garments and be ready for the third day;
for on the third day the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai
before the eyes of all the people."

On the morning of the third day
there were peals of thunder and lightning,
and a heavy cloud over the mountain,
and a very loud trumpet blast,
so that all the people in the camp trembled.
But Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God,
and they stationed themselves at the foot of the mountain.
Mount Sinai was all wrapped in smoke,
for the LORD came down upon it in fire.
The smoke rose from it as though from a furnace,
and the whole mountain trembled violently.
The trumpet blast grew louder and louder, while Moses was speaking
and God answering him with thunder.

When the LORD came down to the top of Mount Sinai,
he summoned Moses to the top of the mountain.

Responsorial Psalm Daniel 3:52, 53, 54, 55, 56

R. (52b) Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you, O Lord, the God of our fathers,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever;
And blessed is your holy and glorious name,
praiseworthy and exalted above all for all ages."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the temple of your holy glory,
praiseworthy and glorious above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you on the throne of your Kingdom,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you who look into the depths
from your throne upon the cherubim,
praiseworthy and exalted above all forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!
"Blessed are you in the firmament of heaven,
praiseworthy and glorious forever."
R. Glory and praise for ever!

Alleluia See Mt 11:25

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

Gospel Mt 13:10-17

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?"
He said to them in reply,
"Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted
and I heal them.

"But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it."

Matthew
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	Matthew 13
10.	And his disciples came and said to him: Why speakest thou to them in parables?	Et accedentes discipuli dixerunt ei : Quare in parabolis loqueris eis ?	και προσελθοντες οι μαθηται ειπον αυτω δια τι εν παραβολαις λαλεις αυτοις
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.	Qui respondens, ait illis : Quia vobis datum est nosse mysteria regni cælorum : illis autem non est datum.	ο δε αποκριθεις ειπεν αυτοις οτι υμιν δεδοται γνωναι τα μυστηρια της βασιλειας των ουρανων εκεινοις δε ου δεδοται
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.	Qui enim habet, dabitur ei, et abundabit : qui autem non habet, et quod habet auferetur ab eo.	οστις γαρ εχει δοθησεται αυτω και περισσευθησεται οστις δε ουκ εχει και ο εχει αρθησεται απ αυτου
13.	Therefore do I speak to them in parables: because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.	Ideo in parabolis loquor eis : quia videntes non vident, et audientes non audiunt, neque intelligunt.	δια τουτο εν παραβολαις αυτοις λαλω οτι βλεποντες ου βλεπουσιν και ακουοντες ουκ ακουουσιν ουδε συνιουσιν
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.	Et adimpletur in eis prophetia Isaiæ, dicentis : Auditu audietis, et non intelligetis : et videntes videbitis, et non videbitis.	και αναπληρουται αυτοις η προφητεια ησαιου η λεγουσα ακοη ακουσετε και ου μη συνητε και βλεποντες βλεψετε και ου μη ιδητε
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.	Incrassatum est enim cor populi hujus, et auribus graviter audierunt, et oculos suos clauserunt : nequando videant oculis, et auribus audiant, et corde intelligant, et convertantur, et sanem eos.	επαχυνθη γαρ η καρδια του λαου τουτου και τοις ωσιν βαρεως ηκουσαν και τους οφθαλμους αυτων εκαμμυσαν μηποτε ιδωσιν τοις οφθαλμοις και τοις ωσιν ακουσωσιν και τη καρδια συνωσιν και επιστρεψωσιν και ιασομαι αυτους
16.	But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.	Vestri autem beati oculi quia vident, et aures vestræ quia audiunt.	υμων δε μακαριοι οι οφθαλμοι οτι βλεπουσιν και τα ωτα υμων οτι ακουει
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.	Amen quippe dico vobis, quia multi prophetæ et justi cupierunt videre quæ videtis, et non viderunt : et audire quæ auditis, et non audierunt.	αμην γαρ λεγω υμιν οτι πολλοι προφηται και δικαιοι επεθυμησαν ιδειν α βλεπετε και ουκ ειδον και ακουσαι α ακουετε και ουκ ηκουσαν

10. And the disciples came, and said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables?
11. He answered and said to them, Because it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12. For whosoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever has not, from him shall be taken away even that he has.
13. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which said, By hearing you shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you shall see, and shall not perceive:
15. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed: lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17. For I say to you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which you see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them.

GLOSS; The disciples understanding that the things which were spoken by the Lord to the people were obscure, desired to hint to Him that He should not speak in parables to them And his disciples came to him, and said, Why do you speak to them in parables?

CHRYS; Wherein it is worthy admiration, that the disciples who desire to learn of Him, know when they ought to ask Him, for they do not this before the multitude. This Matthew declares, when he says, And they came to him; and Mark more expressly says, that they came to him when he was alone.

JEROME; We must inquire how they could come to Him at that time when Jesus was sitting in the ship; we may understand that they had at the first entered into the ship, and standing there, made this inquiry of Him.

REMIG; The Evangelist therefore says, came to Him, to express that they eagerly inquired of Him; or they might indeed approach Him bodily, though the space between them was small.

CHRYS; And observe moreover their goodness, how great their thought for others, that they inquire about what concerns others, before what relates to themselves. For they say not, 'Why do you speak to us in parables?' but to them. And he answered and said to them, Because it is given to you to know the mystery of the kingdom of heaven.

REMIG; To you, I say, who adhere to Me, and believe in Me. By the mystery of the kingdom of heaven, He intends the Gospel doctrine. To them, that is, to them that are without, and who would not believe on Him, the Scribes namely and Pharisees, and to the rest who continue in unbelief, it is not given. Let us then, with the disciples, come to the Lord with a pure heart, that He may think us worthy to interpret to us the evangelic teaching; according to that, They Who draw near to his feet, shall receive of his doctrine.

CHRYS; In saying this, He does not imply any necessity or fate, but shows at once, that they, to whom it is not given, are the cause of all their own miseries, and yet that the knowledge of the Divine mysteries is the gift of God, and a grace given from above. Yet this does not destroy free will, as is manifest from what follows; for to prevent that either these should despair, or those be remiss, when they hear that to you it is given, He shows that the beginning of all lays with ourselves, and then He adds, For whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall abound; and whosoever has not, from him shall be taken what he has. As much as to say, Whosoever has the desire and the zeal, to him shall be given all those things which are of God; but whosoever lacks these, and does not contribute that part that pertains to him, to him neither are the things which are of God given, but even those things that he has are taken from him; not because God takes them away, but because he has made himself unworthy of those that he has. Wherefore we also, if we see any hearkening carelessly, and having exhorted him to attend, he do not heed us, let us be silent; for should we persevere in urging him, his slothfulness will be the more charged against him. But him that is zealous to learn, we draw onwards, pouring forth many things And He well said according to another Evangelist, That which he seems to have; for, in truth, he has not even that he has.

REMIG; He that has a desire to read, shall have given to him power to understand, and whosoever has not desire to read, that understanding which by the bounty of nature he seems to have, even that shall be taken from him. Or, whosoever has charity, to him shall be given the other virtues also; and from him who has not charity, the other virtues likewise shall be taken away, for without charity there can be nothing good.

JEROME; Or, To the Apostles who believe in Christ there is given, but from the Jews who believed not on the Son of God there is taken away, even whatever good they might seem to have by nature. For they cannot understand anything with wisdom, seeing they have not the head of wisdom.

HILARY; For the Jews not having faith, have lost also the Law which they had; and Gospel faith has the perfect gift, inasmuch as if received it enriches with new fruit, if rejected it subtracts from the riches of ancient possession

CHRYS; But that what He had said might be made more manifest He adds, Therefore I speak to them in parables. because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. Had this been a natural blindness, He ought to have opened their eyes; but forasmuch as it is voluntary, therefore He said not simply, 'They see not,' but Seeing they see not. For they had seen the demons going out, and they said, He casts out demons by Beelzebub, they heard that He drew all men to God, and they say, This man is not of God. Therefore because they spoke the man contrary to what they saw and heard, to see and to hear is taken from them; for they profit nothing, but rather fall under judgment. For this reason He spoke to them at first not in parables, but with much clearness; but because the perverted all they saw and heard, He now speaks in parables

REMIG; And it should be noted, that not only what He spoke but also what He did, were parables, that is, signs of things spiritual, which He clearly shows when He says, That seeing they may not see; but words are heard and not seen.

JEROME; This He says of those who were standing on the shore, and separated from Jesus, and who because of the dashing of the waves heard not distinctly what was said.

CHRYS; And that they should not say, He slanders us as an enemy, He brings forward the Prophet declaring the same opinion, as it follows, That there might be fulfilled in them the prophecy of Isaiah, who said, With the hearing you shall hear and shall not understand, and seeing you shall see and shall not behold.

GLOSS; That is, with the hearing you shall hear words, but shall not understand the hidden meaning of those words; seeing you shall see My flesh indeed, but shall not discern the divinity.

CHRYS; This He said because they had taken away their own sight and hearing, shutting their eyes, and hardening their hearts. For not only did they not hear at all, but they heard obtusely, as it follows, The heart of this people is waxed gross, and they have heard hardly with their ears.

RABAN; The heart of the Jews is made gross with the grossness of wickedness, and through the abundance of their sins they hear hardly the Lord's words, because they have received them ungratefully.

JEROME; And that should not suppose that this grossness of the heart and heaviness of the ears is of nature, and not of choice, He adds the fruit of their own willfulness, For they have shut their eyes.

CHRYS; Herein He points out how extreme their wickedness, how determined their aversion. Again draw them towards Him, He adds, And be converted, and I should heal them; which shows that if they would be converted, they should be healed. As if one should say, If he would ask me I would immediately forgive him, this would point out how he might be reconciled; so here when He says, Lest they should be converted and I should heal them, He shows that it was possible they should be converted, and having done penitence should be saved.

AUG; Otherwise, They have shut their eyes lest they should see with their eyes, that is, themselves were the cause that God shut their eyes. For another Evangelist says, He has blinded their eyes. But is this to the end that they should never see? Or that they should not see so much as this, that becoming discontent with their own blindness and bewailing themselves, should so be humbled, and moved to confession of their sins and pious seeking after God. For Mark thus expresses the same thing, Lest they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. From which we learn, that by their sins they deserved not to understand; and that yet this was allowed them in mercy that they should confess their sins, and should turn, and so merit to be forgiven. But when John relating this expresses it thus, Therefore they could not believe because Esaias said again, He has blinded their eyes and hardened their heart, that they should not see with their eyes, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them, this seems to be opposed to this interpretation, and to compel us to take what is here said, lest they should see with their eyes, not as though they might come to see after this fashion, but that they should never see at all; for he says it plainly, That they should not see with their eyes. And that he says, Therefore they could not believe, sufficiently shows that the blindness was not inflicted, to the end that moved thereby, and grieving that they understood not, they should be unless through penitence; for that they could not, unless they had first believed, and by believing had been converted, and by conversion had been healed, and having been healed understood; but it rather shows that they were therefore blinded that they should not believe. For he speaks most clearly, Therefore they could not believe. But if it be so who would not rise up in defense of the Jews, and pronounce them to be free from all blame for their unbelief; For, Therefore they could not believe, because he has blinded their eyes. But because we must rather believe God to be without fault, we are driven to confess that by some other sins they had thus deserved to be blinded, and that indeed this blinding prevented them from believing; for the words of John are these, They could not believe, because that Esaias said again, He has blinded their eyes. It is in vain then to endeavor to understand it that they were therefore blinded that they should be converted; seeing they could not be converted because they believed not; and they could not believe because they were blinded. Or perhaps we should not say amiss thus - that some of the Jews were capable of being healed, but that being puffed up with so great swelling pride, it was good for them at first that they should not believe, that they might understand the Lord speaking in parables, which if they did not understand they would not believe; and thus not believing on Him, they together with the rest who were past hope crucified Him; and at length after His resurrection, they were converted, when humbled by the guilt of His death they loved Him the more because of the heavy guilt which had been forgiven them; for their so great pride needed such an humiliation to overcome it. This might indeed be thought an inconsistent explanation, did we not plainly read in the Acts of the Apostles that thus it was. This then that John says, Therefore they could not believe, because he has blinded their eyes that they should not see, is not repugnant to our holding that they were therefore blinded that they should be converted; that is to say, that the Lord's meaning was therefore purposely clothed in the obscurities of parables, that after His resurrection they might turn them to wisdom with a more healthy penitence. For by reason of the darkness of His discourse, they being blinded did not understand the Lord's sayings, and not understanding them, they did not believe on Him, and not believing on Him they crucified Him; thus after His resurrection, terrified by the miracles that were wrought in His name, they had the greater compunction for their great sin, and were more prostrated in penitence; and accordingly after indulgence granted they turned to obedience with a more ardent affection. Notwithstanding, some there were to whom this blinding profited not to conversion.

REMIG; In all the clauses the word ' not' must be understood; thus; That they should not see with their eyes, and should not bear with their ears, and should not understand with their heart and should not be converted, and I should heal them.

GLOSS; So then the eyes of them that see, and will not believe, are miserable, but your eyes are blessed; whence it follows; Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

JEROME; If we had not read above that invitation to his hearers to understand, when the Savior said, He that has ears to hear let him hear, we might here suppose that the eyes and ears which are now blessed are those of the body. But I think that those eyes are blessed which can discern Christ's sacraments, and those ears of which Isaiah speaks, The Lord has given me an ear.

GLOSS; The mind is called an eye, because it is intently directed upon what is set before it to understand it; and an ear, because it learns from the teaching of another.

HILARY; Or, He is speaking of the blessedness of the Apostolic times, to whose eyes and ears it was permitted to see and to hear the salvation of God, many Prophets and just men having desired to see and to hear that which was destined to be in the fullness of times; whence it follows; I say to you, that many Prophets and just men have desired to see the things that you see, and to hear the things that you hear, and have not heard them.

JEROME; This place seems to be contradicted by what is said elsewhere. Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad.

RABAN; Also Isaiah and Micah, and many other Prophets, saw the glory of the Lord; and were thence called 'seers.'

JEROME; But He said not, 'The Prophets and the just men,' but many; for out of the whole number, it may be that some saw, and others saw not But as this is a perilous interpretation, that we should seem to be making a distinction between the merits of the saints, at least as far as the degree of their merits in Christ, therefore we may suppose that Abraham saw in enigma, and not in substance. But you have truly present with you, and hold, your Lord, inquiring of Him at your will, and eating with Him.

CHRYS; These things then which the Apostles saw and heard, are such as His presence, which voice, His teaching. And in this He sets them before not the evil only, but even before the good, pronouncing them more blessed than even the righteous men of old. For they saw not only what the Jews saw not, but also what the righteous men and Prophets desired to see, and had not seen. For they had beheld these things only by faith, but these by sight, and even yet more clearly. You see how He identifies the Old Testament with the New, for had the Prophets been the servants of any strange or hostile Deity, they would not have desired to see Christ.

Catena Aurea Matthew 13

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

The Israelites Arrive in Sinai (Continuation)

[1] On the third new moon after the people of Israel had gone forth out of the land
of Egypt, on that day they came into the wilderness of Sinai. [2] And when they
set out from Rephidim and came into the wilderness of Sinai, they encamped in
the wilderness; and there Israel encamped before the mountain.

[9] And the Lord said to Moses, “Lo, I am coming to you in a thick cloud, that
the people may hear when I speak with you, and may also believe you for ever.”

Then Moses told the words of the people to the Lord.

The Theophany on Sinai

[10] And the Lord said to Moses,”Go to the people and consecrate them today
and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, [11] and be ready by the third
day; for on the third day the Lord will come down upon Mount Sinai in the sight
of all the people.

[16] On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings, and a
thick cloud upon the mountain, and a very loud trumpet blast, so that all the
people who were in the camp trembled. [17] Then Moses brought the people
out of the camp to meet God; and they took their stand at the foot of the
mountain; [18] And Mount Sinai was wrapped in smoke, because the Lord de-
scended upon it in fire; and the smoke of it went up like the smoke of a kiln,
and the whole mountain quaked greatly. [19] And as the sound of the trumpet
grew louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him in thunder. [20]
And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain;

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Commentary:

19:1-25. This chapter is written as part of a magnificent liturgy is which the e-
vents of Sinai are re-enacted for the reader. The sacred author, then, does not
seek to provide an exact, scholarly report on what happened there; what he is
providing, rather, is a theological interpretation of the real contact which took
place between God and his people.

As in other important sections of this book, it draws on the great traditions of
Israel but combines them so skillfully that they have become inseparable; only
now and then can one identify traces of particular traditions. The text as it now
stands is all of a piece. In this chapter there is a prologue (v. 9), summing up
what follows, and the theophany proper (vv. 10-25).

19:1-2. This method of calculating time (v. 1) is one of the traces of the Priestly
tradition, always keen to give dates a symbolic meaning (cf. 16:1 and 17:1).
Three months is a very brief stage in the prolonged sojourn in the Sinai: in this
way time becomes a sign of the religious importance of the events.

19:10-25. This description of the theopany on Sinai contains features of a so-
lemn liturgy in order to highlight the majesty and transcendence of God. Ver-
ses 10-15 cover as it were the preparation for the great event, and vv. 16-20
the event itself.

The preparation is very detailed: ritual purification in the days previous, ablutions
and everything possible done to ensure that the participants have the right dispo-
sitions, even a ban on sexual intercourse (cf. Lev 15:16ff) as a sign of exclusive
concentration on God who is coming to visit. Also, the fact that the people have
to keep within bounds is a tangible way of showing the transcendence of God.
Once Jesus Christ, God made man, comes, no barrier will any longer to im-
posed.

The manifestation of God took place on the third day.; The smoke, the fire and
the earthquake are external signs of the presence of God, who is the master of
nature. The two trumpet blasts (vv. 16, 19), the people’s march to the foot of
the mountain and then standing to attention – all give a liturgical tone to their
acknowledgment of the Lord as their only Sovereign. All these things and even
the voice of God in the thunder convey the idea that this awesome storm was
something unique, for what was happening this special presence of God on Si-
nai, could never happen again.

Israel will never forget this religious experience, as we can see from the Psalms
(cf. Ps 18:8-9; 29:3-4; 77:17-18; 97:2ff). In the New Testament, extraordinary
divine manifestations will carry echoes of this theophany (cf. Mt 27:45; 51; Acts
2:2-4).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Matthew 13:10-17

Speaking in Parables

[10] Then the disciples came and said to Him (Jesus), “Why do You speak to
them in parables?” [11] 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.
[12] 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. [13] 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. [14] With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of
Isaiah which says: `You shall indeed hear but never understand, and you shall
indeed see but never perceive. [15] For this people’s heart has grown dull, and
their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should
perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart,
and turn for me to heal them.’

[16] But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. [17]
Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you
see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”

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Commentary:

10-13. The kind of Kingdom Jesus was going to establish did not suit the Judaism
of His time, largely because of the Jew’s nationalistic, earthbound idea of the Mes-
siah to come. In His preaching Jesus takes account of the different outlooks of
His listeners, as can be seen in the attitudes described in the parable of the so-
wer. If people were well disposed to Him, the enigmatic nature of the parable would
stimulate their interest; and Jesus later did give His many disciples a fuller expla-
nation of its meaning; but there was no point in doing this if people were not ready
to listen.

Besides, parables—as indeed any type of comparison or analogy—are used to re-
veal or explain something which is not easy to understand, as was the case with
the supernatural things Jesus was explaining. One has to shade one’s eyes to
see things if the sun is too bright; otherwise, one is blinded and sees nothing.
Similarly, parables help to shade supernatural brightness to allow the listener to
grasp meaning without being blinded by it.

These verses also raise a very interesting question: how can divine revelation and
grace produce such widely differing responses in people? What is at work here
is the mystery of divine grace—which is an unmerited gift—and of man’s response
to this grace. What Jesus says here underlines man’s responsibility to be ready
to accept God’s grace and to respond to it. Jesus’ reference to Isaiah (Matthew
13:14-15) is a prophecy of that hardness of heart which is a punishment meted
out to those who resist grace.

These verses need to be interpreted in the light of three points: 1) Jesus Christ
loved everyone, including people of His own home town: He gave His life in order
to save all men; 2) the parable is a literary form designed to get ideas across
clearly: its ultimate aim is to teach, not to mislead or obscure; 3) lack of appre-
ciation for divine grace is something blameworthy, which does merit punishment;
however, Jesus did not come directly to punish anyone, but rather to save every-
one.

12. Jesus is addressing His disciples and explaining to them that, precisely
because they have faith in Him and want to have a good grasp of His teaching,
they will be given a deeper understanding of divine truths. But those who do not
“follow Him” (cf. note on Matthew 4:18-22) will later lose interest in the things of
God and will grow ever blinder: it is as if the little they have is being taken away
from them.

This verse also helps us understand the meaning of the parable of the sower, a
parable which gives a wonderful explanation of the supernatural economy of di-
vine grace: God gives grace, and man freely responds to that grace. The result
is that those who respond to grace generously receive additional grace and so
grow steadily in grace and holiness; whereas those who reject God’s gifts become
closed up within themselves; through their selfishness and attachment to sin they
eventually lose God’s grace entirely. In this verse, then, our Lord gives a clear
warning: with the full weight of His divine authority He exhorts us—without taking
away our freedom—to act responsibly: the gifts God keeps sending us should
yield fruit; we should make good use of the opportunities for Christian sanctifi-
cation which are offered us in the course of our lives.

14-15. Only well-disposed people grasp the meaning of God’s words. It is not
enough just to hear them physically. In the course of Jesus’ preaching the pro-
phetic words of Isaiah come true once again.

However, we should not think that not wanting to hear or to understand was
something exclusive to certain contemporaries of Jesus; each one of us is at
times hard of hearing, hard-hearted and dull-minded in the presence of God’s
grace and saving word. Moreover, it is not enough to be familiar with the tea-
ching of the Church: it is absolutely necessary to put the faith into practice, with
all that that implies, morally and ascetically. Jesus was fixed to the wood of the
Cross not only by nails and by the sins of certain Jews but also by our sins—sins
committed centuries later but which afflicted the Sacred Humanity of Jesus
Christ, who bore the burden of our sins. See the note on Mark 4:11-12.

16-17. In contrast with the closed attitude of many Jews who witnessed Jesus’
life but did not believe in Him, the disciples are praised by our Lord for their do-
cility to grace, their openness to recognizing Him as the Messiah and to accep-
ting His teaching.

He calls His disciples blessed, happy. As He says, the prophets and just men
and women of the Old Testament had for centuries lived in hope of enjoying one
day the peace the future Messiah would bring, but they had died without experien-
cing this good fortune. Simeon, towards the end of his long life, was filled with joy
on seeing the infant Jesus when He was presented in the temple: “He took Him
up in his arms and blessed God and said, `Lord now lettest Thou Thy servant
depart in peace, according to Thy word; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation’”
(Luke 2:28-30). During our Lord’s public life, His disciples were fortunate enough
to see and be on close terms with Him; later they would recall that incomparable
gift, and one of them would begin his first letter in these words: “That which was
from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes,
which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of
life; [...] that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you
may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with His
Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing this that our [or: your] joy may be complete
1 John 1:1-4).

This exceptional good fortune was, obviously, not theirs but of special merit: God
planned it; it was He who decided that the time had come for the Old Testament
prophecies to be fulfilled. In any event, God gives every soul opportunities to meet
Him: each of us has to be sensitive enough to grasp them and not let them pass.
There were many men and women in Palestine who saw and heard the incarnate
Son of God but did not have the spiritual sensitivity to see in Him what the Apos-
tles and disciples saw.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: Green.

First reading
Exodus 19:1-2,9-11,16-20 ©

Three months after they came out of the land of Egypt, on that day the sons of Israel came to the wilderness of Sinai. From Rephidim they set out again; and when they reached the wilderness of Sinai, there in the wilderness they pitched their camp; there facing the mountain Israel pitched camp.

The Lord said to Moses, ‘I am coming to you in a dense cloud so that the people may hear when I speak to you and may trust you always.’ And Moses took the people’s reply back to the Lord.

The Lord said to Moses, ‘Go to the people and tell them to prepare themselves today and tomorrow. Let them wash their clothing and hold themselves in readiness for the third day, because on the third day the Lord will descend on the mountain of Sinai in the sight of all the people.’

Now at daybreak on the third day there were peals of thunder on the mountain and lightning flashes, a dense cloud, and a loud trumpet blast, and inside the camp all the people trembled. Then Moses led the people out of the camp to meet God; and they stood at the bottom of the mountain. The mountain of Sinai was entirely wrapped in smoke, because the Lord had descended on it in the form of fire. Like smoke from a furnace the smoke went up, and the whole mountain shook violently. Louder and louder grew the sound of the trumpet. Moses spoke, and God answered him with peals of thunder. The Lord came down on the mountain of Sinai, on the mountain top, and the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain; and Moses went up.

Responsorial Psalm	Daniel 3:52-56 ©

You are blest, Lord God of our fathers.