From the responsorial psalm: “Help us, O God our savior, because of the glory of your name; Deliver us and pardon our sins for your name’s sake. For the glory of your name, O Lord, deliver us.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:36-43)
“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.”
In response to the disciples, Jesus explains the parable of the weeds and the wheat. The Son of Man, Jesus tells them, is the one who sows good seed. “The weeds are the children of the Evil One,” he says, “and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.” In the end of the age, the Son of Man will send his angels for the final judgment. Among the worst places to be in this depiction of Jesus is one of those who causes others to sin. In alarming clarity, Jesus himself describes the reality of the devil and evil spirits. To cooperate with them, to turn away from God, is to sin and position oneself to cause others to sin—a place of misery. But God has a place for the righteous, a place in the Kingdom of the Father, where those who hear and obey him will shine like the sun in everlasting bliss.
God, for the glory of your name, help me remember to come to you without hesitation in this life so I am prepared to give you unending thanks and praise in the life of the world to come. Jeremiah says, “Is it not you alone, O LORD, our God, to whom we look? You alone have done all these things.” Help me look to you alone, Lord, to remain in your word and to turn away from the Evil One. Deliver me, free me from death, and forgive my sins for your name’s sake. Saint Peter Chrysologus, pray for us!
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.