24TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
Psalter: Week 3 / (White)
St. Pio of Pietrelcina, priest / Memorial of Blessed Virgin Mary
Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5
Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
1st Reading: 1 Tim 6:13-16
Now, in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Jesus Christ, who expressed before Pontius Pilate the authentic profession of faith: preserve the revealed message to all. Keep yourself pure and blameless, until the glorious coming of Christ Jesus, our Lord, who God will bring about at the proper time; he, the magnificent sovereign, King of kings and Lord of lords. To him, alone, immortal, who lives in unapproachable light, and whom no one has ever seen or can see, to him, be honor and power, for ever and ever. Amen!
Gospel: Lk 8:4-15
As a great crowd gathered, and people came to him from every town, Jesus began teaching them with a story: “The sower went out to sow the seed. And as he sowed, some of the seed fell along the way, was trodden on, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground; and no sooner had it come up than it withered, because it had no water. Some seed fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with the seed and choked it. But some seed fell on good soil and grew, producing fruit, a hundred times as much!“ And Jesus cried out, “Listen then, if you have ears to hear!“
The disciples asked him, “What does this story mean?“ And Jesus answered, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to others it is given in the form of stories, or parables, so that, seeing, they may not perceive; and hearing, they may not understand.
Now, this is the point of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the wayside are people who hear it; but immediately, the devil comes and takes the word from their minds, for he doesn‘t want them to believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are people who receive the word with joy; but they have no root; they believe for a while, and give way in time of trial. Among the thorns are people who hear the word, but, as they go their way, they are choked by worries, riches, and the pleasures of life; they bring no fruit to maturity. The good soil, instead, are people who receive the word, and keep it, in a gentle and generous mind, and, persevering patiently, they bear fruit.
REFLECTION:
Parables of Jesus are revelatory in two ways – it reveals our nature and possibilities as well as God‘s nature and actualities. No committed sower would ever sow precious seeds along the way or on the rock or among thorns; he would rather sow every seed in the most fertile soil. But the sower of the parable is different – he sows it everywhere, with no care for the nature of the soil. Was it an accident? It doesn‘t look so: for, to sow on rocky ground and among thorns, one must walk on the rocks and among thorns, bearing the hardness of the rock and pricking of the thorns. So, what does it tell us about God, the sower? He would walk, bearing every inconvenience and pain, on any way and rock or among thorns and bushes to sow His seed; he would not exclude any kind of soil. He must be doing it with the hope that at least some of the seeds would sprout and mature; or that the soil would change overtime and the seeds would bear fruit.
Daily Reflection
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Biblical Texts are taken from Christian Community Bible, Catholic Pastoral Edition (57th Edition) The New English Translation for the ROMAN MISSAL
With permission from the EPISCOPAL COMMISION ON LITURGY of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines
Readings and Reflections
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