Gospel (Mt 13,36-43) - At that time, Jesus dismissed the crowd and entered the house; his disciples approached him to say: «Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field». And he replied: «He who sows the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world and the good seed are the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the angels. »Therefore just as weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the world. The Son of Man will send his angels, who will gather from his kingdom all the sins and all those who commit iniquity and will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Whoever has ears, listen!

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

The disciples, having returned home, ask Jesus to explain the parable of the weeds. There are moments of intimacy between Jesus and the disciples in which it is easier to ask and confide. We can assimilate these moments to those that every community experiences when it gathers in common prayer. Jesus is present where two or three are gathered in his name. Listening to the Word of God in common has a very particular value and grace, given precisely by its real presence. It is the meaning of that friendship relationship that is underlined in particular by John when, for example, Jesus says to the disciples: «I no longer call you servants... because everything I have heard from my Father I have made known to you» ( John 15:15). Friendship with Jesus allows us to enter deeply into the meaning of the Gospel. He himself explains to the disciples that the good seed and the weeds grow together. The history of men is only one. God came to direct her towards the kingdom. Weeds, evil, are present in the world and in the hearts of believers, as well as in the community of disciples themselves. Good and evil live in each people, in each culture, in each community, in each heart. In the heart of the Lord there is always the hope that the weeds can also be transformed into wheat and we are all responsible for this. And it is necessary for believers to commit themselves to transforming the weeds that surround them.