Mercy Demands Love

Jesus said to the crowds:

“To what shall I compare the people of this generation?

What are they like?

They are like children who sit in the marketplace and call to one another,

‘We played the flute for you, but you did not dance.

We sang a dirge, but you did not weep.’

For John the Baptist came neither eating food nor drinking wine,

and you said, ‘He is possessed by a demon.’

The Son of Man came eating and drinking and you said,

‘Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard,

a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’

But wisdom is vindicated by all her children.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Lectionary for Mass: For Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America (vol. I–IV, Second Typical Edition.; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1998–2002).