July 17, 2026 | Liturgical Year A
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
- Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
- Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
- Romans 8:26-27
- Matthew 13:24-43 or 13:24-30
All Are Welcome
U.S. missionaries meet people from not only unfamiliar, even startling cultural backgrounds when we go abroad, but also from political backgrounds. I remember meeting young members of the Communist Party and other movements for the first time in my life in Chile, and it took a while for me to grow friendships and overcome my prejudices among that part of our growing parish family, respecting differences and creating trust among us. The active work of defense and promotion of human rights by the Church during the Pinochet dictatorship attracted many and diverse kinds of people to our chapels and meeting rooms.
When conversations in our Christian communities in Latin America turned sour, or divisive, with a mix of different personalities and ideologies present, we found that certain people were gifted at creating dialogues, and helped smooth over the tensions, making us all aware of the need to listen well to others, before speaking, and not to pressure or try to take advantage of one another.
The conversations could be strident, and raucous, especially among people used to meetings of labor unions or political parties. Poorer, economically-challenged people tended to value highly the chance to have their voices heard, and I actually learned a lot from them about participating in vigorous debates, and opening up more in aspontaneous way, without yielding to the temptation to formulate a small homily in my mind before speaking.
It was somewhat surprising, as gifts of the Holy Spirit often are, when these groups actually became quite united among ourselves, in the end. When we allowed time for people to pray together, develop their thinking and language about the faith in terms of problems we all shared, we grew. No one was expelled. It was a matter of growth, like the wheat and the weeds of today’s parable, with the final result left up to God’s judgement.
Notes on the Readings
First Reading: Wisdom 12:13, 16-19
This inspired reflection on God’s power and mercy asserts that God is just and lenient because he is master of his might, unlike the pitiless behavior of insecure, morally disturbed pharaohs (this book was likely written in Egypt).
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 86:5-6, 9-10, 15-16
These particular verses of a psalm of lament are the least sorrowful ones, together composing a cry of confidence in God to whom “all the nations” will come.
Second Reading: Romans 8:26-27
Paul considers the role of the Holy Spirit in prayer as one of helping us to express what we really want to say to God, even when the best we can do is groan or sigh, as well as to make sure that God understands what we say in prayer.
Gospel: Matthew 13:24-43, or 24-30
Jesus presents the parable of the wheat and the weeds in order to address the fact, disturbing for his followers, that his Gospel gets a mixed reception among his own people, the Jews, resulting in both kinds of people. Jesus urges patience, and tolerance, leaving judgement to God.
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