Saturday
of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 448
Reading 1
Brothers and sisters:
Someone may say, “How are the dead raised?
With what kind of body will they come back?”You fool!
What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies.
And what you sow is not the body that is to be
but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind.
So also is the resurrection of the dead.
It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible.
It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious.
It is sown weak; it is raised powerful.
It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one.
So, too, it is written,
“The first man, Adam, became a living being,”
the last Adam a life-giving spirit.
But the spiritual was not first;
rather the natural and then the spiritual.
The first man was from the earth, earthly;
the second man, from heaven.
As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly,
and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly.
Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one,
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (14) I will walk in the presence of God, in the light
of the living.
Now I know that God is with me.
In God, in whose promise I glory,
in God I trust without fear;
what can flesh do against me?
R. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.
I am bound, O God, by vows to you;
your thank offerings I will fulfill.
For you have rescued me from death,
my feet, too, from stumbling;
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.
R. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after
another
journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable.
“A sower went out to sow his seed.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled,
and the birds of the sky ate it up.
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew,
it withered for lack of moisture.
Some seed fell among thorns,
and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew,
it produced fruit a hundredfold.”
After saying this, he called out,
“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
Then his disciples asked him
what the meaning of this parable might be.
He answered,
“Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God
has been granted to you;
but to the rest, they are made known through parables
so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.
“This is the meaning of the parable.
The seed is the word of God.
Those on the path are the ones who have heard,
but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts
that they may not believe and be saved.
Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear,
receive the word with joy, but they have no root;
they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation.
As for the seed that fell among thorns,
they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along,
they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life,
and they fail to produce mature fruit.
But as for the seed that fell on rich soil,
they are the ones who, when they have heard the word,
embrace it with a generous and good heart,
and bear fruit through perseverance.”
https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/091920.cfm
Meditation: He
Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear
How
good are you at listening, especially for the word of God? God is always ready
to speak to each of us and to give us understanding of his word. Jesus' parable
of the sower is aimed at the hearers of his word. There are different ways of
accepting God's word and they produce different kinds of fruit accordingly.
There is the prejudiced hearer who has a shut mind. Such a person is unteachable
and blind to the things of God. Then there is the shallow hearer who fails to
think things out or think them through; such a person lacks spiritual depth.
They may initially respond with an emotional fervor; but when it wears off
their mind wanders to something else.
Does God's word for you go in one ear and out the other?
Another type of hearer is the person who has many interests and cares, but who
lacks the ability to hear and understand what is truly important. Such a person
is for ever too busy to pray and to listen and reflect on God's word because he
or she allows other things to occupy their mind and heart. Whose voice or
message gets the most attention from you - the voice of the world with its many
distractions or the voice of God who wishes to speak his word of love and truth
with you each and every day?
A receptive heart and mind that listens attentively
Jesus compares the third type of hearer with the good soil that is ready to
receive the seed of his word so it can take root and grow, and produce good
fruit. A receptive heart and open mind are always ready to hear what God wants
to teach us through his word. The "ears of their heart" and the
"eyes of their mind" search out the meaning of God's word for them so
that it may grow and produce good fruit in their lives. They hear with a
listening ear and teachable spirit (Isaiah 50:4-5) that wants to learn and
understand the intention of God's word for them. They strive to tune out the
noise and distractions of the world around them so they can give their
attention to God's word and find nourishment in it. They listen in order to
understand.
God's word has power to change and transform each one of us if we receive it
with trust (a believing heart) and allow it to take root in our inner being (the
depths of our heart, mind, and soul). God's word is our daily food to nourish
and strengthen us on our journey of faith to his everlasting kingdom. Do you
hunger for God's word?
Lord
Jesus, faith in your word is the way to wisdom, and to ponder your divine plan
is to grow in the truth. Open my eyes to your deeds, and my ears to the sound
of your call, that I may understand your will for my life and live according to
it.
Daily
Quote from the Early Church Fathers: The Devil snatches good seed off the
path, by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD)
"The
seed is the Word of God. Those on the way are they who have heard. Afterwards,
the devil comes and takes away the Word from their heart, that they may not
believe and be saved. We see in a moment that the hardness of the ground causes
the seed on the pathways to be snatched away. A pathway always is hard and
untilled, because it is exposed to every one's feet. It does not admit any seed
into it, but it lies rather upon the surface, ready for any birds that will to
snatch it away. All whose minds are hard and unyielding, and so to speak,
pressed together, do not receive the divine seed. The divine and sacred
admonition does not find an entrance into them. They do not accept the words
that would produce in them the fear of God and by means of which they could
bring forth as fruits the glories of virtue. They have made themselves a beaten
and trampled pathway for unclean demons, yes, for Satan himself, such as never
can bear holy fruit. Let those who are awake, whose heart is sterile and
unfruitful, open your mind, receive the sacred seed, be like productive and
well-tilled soil, bring forth to God the fruits that will raise you to an
incorruptible life."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 41)
https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2020&date=sep19
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, LUKE 8:4-15
Weekday
(1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49; Psalm 56)
KEY VERSE: "And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold" (v. 8).
TO KNOW: As Jesus journeyed from town to town proclaiming the good news, he told the crowds a parable about hearing and acting on the word of God. In the story, Jesus compared God's word to seed that had been sown in both favorable and adverse conditions. He said that there were many reasons why some people failed to respond to God's word, thus preventing it from taking root in their lives. Satan, trials, worldly concerns and material pleasures were all obstacles to Jesus' offer of the gospel. Those who persisted in spite of these difficulties were the ones whose hearts were open and ready to receive the message of salvation. Each person has been given a bit of earth in which to plant God's word. With perseverance and devotion, they will bear abundant fruit in their lives.
TO LOVE: How have I helped others to hear the word of God?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, help my heart to be fertile ground for your word.
Optional Memorial of Saint Januarius, bishop and martyr
Januarius was a Fourth century bishop of Benevento, Italy during the Emperor Diocletian's persecution. He was arrested while visiting imprisoned deacons, and later martyred with his companions, c.304 at Naples or Pozzuoli (sources vary). Januarius was first thrown to wild beasts, and when the animals would not attack him, he was beheaded. Januarius' body was brought to Naples, and there interred in the church. His blood was kept in a phial of glass, which was set near his head. Since at least 1389, it is said that the blood liquefies on his feast day.
http://www.togetherwithgodsword.com/commentaries-on-the-daily-gospel-of-the-mass.html
Saturday 19 September 2020
St Januarius
1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49. I will walk in the presence of
God, with the light of the living – Psalm 55(56):10-14. Luke 8:4-15.
The parable of the sower
There would be excitement in Naples today. The blood of their
patron martyr saint, St Januarius (or Gennaro), liquefies three times a year,
and this day, his feast day, is one of those days. Januarius was martyred
during the great persecution of the emperor Diocletian in 303. A vial of his
dried blood is kept in the cathedral. It warms and flows to remind the
Neapolitans of their closeness to heaven.
Both readings today remind us of this closeness. Luke’s parable
of the scattered seed highlights the struggle of God’s word to find a home in
the human heart. Paul’s reflection on the resurrected body speaks of our bodies
buried like corruptible, weak seed, but rising glorious, powerful and
spiritual. Luke’s parable suggests a God who is extravagantly generous with the
gift of seed.
A touch of God’s word in our hearts now is a promise of
unbelievable life to come.
http://www.pray.com.au/gospel_reflection/saturday-19-september-2020/
Saint Januarius
Saint of the Day for September 19
(c. 300)
The Martyrdom of Saint Januarius | Neri di Bicci
Saint Januarius’ Story
Little is known about the life of Januarius. He is believed to
have been martyred in the Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of 305. Legend has
it that Januarius and his companions were thrown to the bears in the
amphitheater of Pozzuoli, but the animals failed to attack them. They were then
beheaded, and Januarius’ blood ultimately brought to Naples.
“A dark mass that half fills a hermetically sealed four-inch
glass container, and is preserved in a double reliquary in the Naples cathedral
as the blood of St. Januarius, liquefies 18 times during the year…Various
experiments have been applied, but the phenomenon eludes natural explanation….”
[From the Catholic Encyclopedia]
Reflection
It is defined Catholic doctrine that miracles can happen and are
recognizable. Problems arise, however, when we must decide whether an
occurrence is unexplainable in natural terms, or merely unexplained. We do well
to avoid an excessive credulity but, on the other hand, when even scientists
speak about “probabilities” rather than “laws” of nature, it is something less
than imaginative for Christians to think that God is too “scientific” to work
extraordinary miracles to wake us up to the everyday miracles of sparrows and
dandelions, raindrops and snowflakes.
Saint Januarius is the Patron Saint of:
Blood Banks
Naples
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-januarius/
Lectio Divina: Luke 8:4-15
Lectio Divina
Saturday, September 19, 2020
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Almighty God,
our creator and guide,
may we serve You with all our hearts
and know Your forgiveness in our lives.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading - Luke 8:4-15
When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after
another journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable. "A sower went out to
sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and
the birds of the sky ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it
grew, it withered for lack of moisture. Some seed fell among thorns, and the
thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell on good soil, and when it
grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold." After saying this, he called out,
"Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear." Then his disciples asked
him what the meaning of this parable might be. He answered, "Knowledge of
the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest,
they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see, and
hear but not understand. "This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is
the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the Devil
comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and
be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the
word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall
away in time of temptation. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are
the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties
and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as
for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have
heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit
through perseverance."
3) Reflection
• In today’s Gospel, we will meditate on the parable of the
seed. Jesus had a very popular word to teach by means of parables. A parable is
a comparison which uses the visible things of life that are known to explain
the invisible and unknown things of the Kingdom of God. Jesus had an enormous
capacity to find very simple images to compare the things of God with the
things of life which people knew and experienced in their daily struggle to
survive. This presupposes two things: to be within the things of life, and to
be within the things of God, of the Kingdom of God. For example, the people of
Galilee understood all about seeds, of land, of rain, of the sun, of salt of
flowers, of the harvest, of fishing, etc. Now, there are exactly these known
things that Jesus uses in the parables to explain the mystery of the Kingdom.
The farmer who listens says: “The seed in the ground, I know what this means.
Jesus says that this has something to do with the Kingdom of God. What could
this ever be?” It is possible to imagine the long conversations with the
people! The parable enters into the heart of the people and urges them to
listen to nature and to think about life.
• When He finishes telling the parable, Jesus does not explain it, but He
usually says: “Who has ears to hear, let him hear” This means: “This is: you
have heard and so now try to understand!” From time to time He would explain to
the disciples: People like this way of teaching, because Jesus believed in the
personal capacity to discover the sense of the parables. The experience which
people had of life was for Him a means to discover the presence of the mystery
of God in their life and to have courage not to be discouraged along the way.
• Luke 8:4: The crowds follow Jesus. Luke says: a large crowd got around Him
and people from all the towns ran to Him from all the towns. So then He tells
them this parable. Mark describes how Jesus told the parable. There were so
many people that He, in order not to fall, went into a boat and sitting down He
taught the people who were on the seashore (Mk 4:1).
• Luke 8:5-8: The parable of the seed is a mirror of the life of the farmers.
At that time, it was not easy to live from agriculture. The ground was full of
rocks; there was little rain, and much sun. Besides, many times, people, to
shorten the way, passed through the fields and stepped on the plants (Mk 2:23).
But in spite of that, every year the farmer sowed and planted, trusting in the
force of the seed, in the generosity of nature.
• Luke 8:8b: Anyone who has ears to hear let him hear! At the end, Jesus says:
“Anyone who has ears to hear, let him hear!” The way to be able to understand
the parable is to search: “Try to understand!” The parable does not say
everything immediately, but moves the person to think. It does it in such a way
that the person discovers the message beginning from the experience which the
person has of the seed. It urges the person to be creative and to participate.
It is not a doctrine which is presented ready to be taught and decorated. The
parable is not water in a bottle, it is the source.
• Luke 8:9-10: Jesus explains the parable to the disciples. At home, alone with
Jesus, the disciples want to know the meaning of the parable. Jesus responds by
means of a difficult and mysterious phrase. He says to the Disciples: “To you
is granted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God, for the rest it
remains in parables so that “they may look but not perceive, listen but not
understand”. This phrase gives rise to a question in the heart of the people:
What is the purpose of a parable? Is it to clarify or to hide things? Did Jesus
uses the parables in order that people continue in their ignorance and would
not convert themselves? Certainly not! In another place it is said that Jesus used
the parables “according to what they could understand” (Mk 4:33). The parable
reveals and hides at the same time” It reveals for those who are “inside,
within” who accept Jesus Messiah Servant. It hides for those who insist in
seeing in Him the Messiah the glorious King. These understand the images of the
parable, but do not understand its meaning.
• Luke 8:11-15: The explanation of the parable, in its diverse parts. One by
one, Jesus explains the parts of the parable, the seed, and the earth up to the
harvest time. Some scholars think that this explanation was added afterwards;
that it would not be from Jesus, but from one of the communities. This is
possible! It does not matter! Because in the bud of the parable there is the
flower of the explanation. Buds and flowers, both of them have the same origin,
that is, Jesus. This is why we also can continue to reflect and to discover
other beautiful things in the parable. Once, a person in a community asked:
“Jesus says that we have to be salt. For what does salt serve?” The people gave
their opinion starting from the experience which each one had regarding salt!
And they applied all this to the life of the community and discovered that to
be salt is difficult and demanding. The parable functioned well! The same thing
can be applied to the seeds. All have a certain experience.
4) Personal questions
• The seed falls in four different places: on the road side,
among the rocks, among the thorns and in the good earth. What does each one of
these four places mean? What type of earth am I? Sometimes, people are rock;
other times thistles; other roadside, other times good ground. Normally, what
are we in our community?
• What are the fruits which the Word of God is producing in our life and in our
community?
5) Concluding Prayer
Your kingship is a kingship for ever,
Your reign lasts from age to age.
Yahweh is trustworthy in all His words,
and upright in all His deeds. (Ps 145:12-13)
https://ocarm.org/en/content/lectio/lectio-divina-luke-84-15
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