From the responsorial psalm: "Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? or who may stand in his holy place? He whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face."

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 4:21-25)

He also told them, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Jesus continues teaching the disciples, placing his focus on the purpose and impact of his message by making two comparisons: the light from a lamp and ears for hearing. What Jesus reveals is not meant to be hidden away but instead given a place of prominence so that the revelation illuminates all of the lives it touches. "The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you" is to say that you receive what you put in, whether attentive to his words or indifferent or dismissive of them. Jesus calls us to actively listen to him and respond to his teachings, which is essential to growing in faith and understanding of his message.

God, as Saint Paul encourages in the first reading, let me do today as I approach you with a sincere heart and absolute trust. So many moving pieces go into a day that it is sometimes hard to see the light that shines right in front of me or to listen attentively for your quiet voice amid a bustle of activity. “Take care what you hear," Jesus says. And anyone who has hears, which is everybody, ought to hear and see what his revelation makes visible. Lord, keep me far from being the one who has not. Give me the grace to receive still more from you as I measure out the breadth and depth and height of your word. "Such is the race that seeks for him," the psalmist prays, "that seeks the face of the God of Jacob."

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.