16th Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A

God himself is my help. The Lord upholds my life. Entrance antiphon

Your justice, Lord, has its source in strength. First reading

O Lord, you are good and forgiving, full of love to all who call. Psalm

The Spirit himself expresses our plea in a way that could never be put into words. Second reading

The darnel and the wheat … let them both grow till the harvest. Gospel

This week’s texts if you want to reflect further:

Wisdom 12: 13, 16–19; Psalm 85 (86); Romans 8: 26–27;

Matthew 13: 24–43

This coming week we are reminded that however hard we may find it to pray, the Lord always knows what we need to say. It is God’s own Spirit that prays within our hearts.

The first reading addresses God directly as the all-powerful one who cares for everything he has made. Though he is the God of strength and justice, he is also lenient and merciful – and so we, too, must try to act with kindness, even when we are challenged.

The psalmist praises the Lord’s goodness and mighty deeds, yet again reminds us that he is slow to anger. We can ask our loving, compassionate God to turn to us whenever we are in need. The short second reading offers us great hope, for it assures us that we can hand over to the Lord any struggles we experience in prayer. St Paul tells of the indwelling Spirit of God, who prays within each one of us whether we can find the right words or not.

Jesus tells three parables about growth in the Gospel. In the first, someone has sabotaged a field of good wheat by planting darnel (weeds). Yet Jesus invites us to think carefully and be patient. If we hurry to pull out the weeds we might end up sacrificing the whole crop, instead of allowing God to work in his own time.

This week, perhaps I might ask the Lord for a deeper trust to share all things with him in my prayer, even those things I find it hardest to express – knowing that he already sees and understands.