JUNE 17 : ELEVENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 92

Reading 1 Ez 17:22-24

Thus says the Lord GOD:
I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar,
from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot,
and plant it on a high and lofty mountain;
on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it,
every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.
And all the trees of the field shall know
that I, the LORD,
bring low the high tree,
lift high the lowly tree,
wither up the green tree,
and make the withered tree bloom.
As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.

Responsorial Psalm Ps 92:2-3, 13-14, 15-16

R. (cf. 2a) Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praise to your name, Most High,
To proclaim your kindness at dawn
and your faithfulness throughout the night.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
The just one shall flourish like the palm tree,
like a cedar of Lebanon shall he grow.
They that are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
They shall bear fruit even in old age;
vigorous and sturdy shall they be,
Declaring how just is the LORD,
my rock, in whom there is no wrong.
R. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.

Reading 2 2 Cor 5:6-10

Brothers and sisters:
We are always courageous,
although we know that while we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord,
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yet we are courageous,
and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.
Therefore, we aspire to please him,
whether we are at home or away.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive recompense,
according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.

Gospel Mk 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds:
"This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come."

He said,
"To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade."
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

(www.usccb.org)

Scripture Study

NOTES on First Reading:

·        [17:22- 23] The Lord will undo the actions of the Babylonian king by rebuilding the Davidic dynasty so the nations realize that only Israel. God can restore a people destiny.

NOTES on Second Reading:

* [5:6-9] Tension between present and future is expressed by another spatial image, the metaphor of the country and its citizens. At present we are like citizens in exile or far away from home. The Lord is the distant homeland, believed in but unseen (2 Cor 5:7).

* [5:10] We must all appear: the verb is ambiguous: we are scheduled to appear for judgment, at which we will be revealed as we are.

NOTES on Gospel:

* [4:26-29] Only Mark records the parable of the seed's growth. Sower and harvester are the same. The emphasis is on the power of the seed to grow of itself without human intervention (Mk 4:27). Mysteriously it produces blade and ear and full grain (Mk 4:28). Thus the kingdom of God initiated by Jesus in proclaiming the word develops quietly yet powerfully until it is fully established by him at the final judgment (Mk 4:29); cf. Rev 14:15.

* [4:32] The universality of the kingdom of God is indicated here; cf. Ez 17:23; 31:6; Dn 4:17-19.

(www.st-raymond-dublin.org)

Meditation: "With what can we compare the kingdom of God?"

What can mustard seeds teach us about the kingdom of God? The tiny mustard seed literally grew to be a tree which attracted numerous birds because they loved the little black mustard seed it produced. God's kingdom works in a similar fashion. It starts from the smallest beginnings in the hearts of men and women who are receptive to God's word. And it works unseen and causes a transformation from within. Just as a seed has no power to change itself until it is planted in the ground, so we cannot change our lives to be like God until God gives us the power of his Holy Spirit. The Lord of the Universe is ever ready to transform us by the power of his Spirit. Are you ready to let God change you by his grace and power? The kingdom of God produces a transformation in those who receive the new life which Jesus Christ offers. When we yield to Jesus Christ, our lives are transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Paul the Apostle says, "we have this treasure in earthen vessels, to show that the transcendent power belongs to God and not to us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Do you believe in the transforming power of the Holy Spirit?
"Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and transform me into the Christ-like holiness you desire. Increase my zeal for your kingdom and instill in me a holy desire to live for your greater glory."

Don Schwager – www.dailyscripture.net

Living with Christ

Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

.

Mark 4:26-34

Jesus said to the crowds, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come." He said, "To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade." With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe you have called me to strive tirelessly to extend your Kingdom throughout the world. I hope in you because you are the one the Father sent. I love you. Thank you for inviting me to be an apostle of your Kingdom.

Petition: Lord Jesus, make me an apostle of your Kingdom.

1. Kingdom of God: Christ returns to this theme again and again. It was the topic of his first public sermon. He gives us the image of the mustard seed which grows to be the largest of plants and in turn serves other creatures’ needs. The Kingdom of God is like this. God is king and his Kingdom, like the mustard tree, is a safe haven for us. We can dwell in its shade, rest on its branches, and find protection from evils. All we have to do is be faithful subjects of our King, following his commands and going out to spread the news of his Kingdom to all people.

2. Modest Beginnings: We should not get anxious when we do not progress in the spiritual life as fast as we would like. God moves us along little by little. The life of our relationship with Christ does not depend solely on us, but on him. We are like good farmers who do our part to make sure the conditions are good for the seed to grow, but it is the Creator who makes the growth happen. Often we do not perceive the work of God in our souls until much time has passed. However, he is constantly there, pulling out our weeds one at a time, and pushing our virtues to the surface.

3. Called to Greatness: Two thousand years ago, Christ’s Church started off like a small mustard seed. It has grown and matured to be a huge plant with many branches. I am one of those branches. Christ brings life to my branch and assigns me a specific task. He calls me to participate in the great mission of his Church. Do I realize and relish how great it is to be a Catholic, how much good the Church does, how I am called to be a link that will bring others to experience the same goodness I have experienced?

Conversation with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am a member of your Mystical Body. I want to partake in your mission of bringing all souls to know and love you. I have found my joy in you, and now I have a burning desire to make it known to all people. Lord, I pray for the courage to keep going, never tiring from the mission you have given me.

Resolution: I will take a moment in prayer to reflect on how God has worked in my life, making me grow.

(www.regnumchristi.org)

Lord, it is good to give thanks to you

Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.
Today’s readings invite us to explore the nurturing aspect of God. The first reading speaks of God’s longing for us to become all that we can be. God makes the low tree high and the dry tree flourish. God yearns for us to produce fruit, to provide shade for those who need to rest and to take our place with all of creation. In the gospel Jesus tells how a tiny mustard seed can become the greatest of all shrubs. Paul’s letter encourages us to walk by faith and not sight.

The journey into wholeness and fullness of life is only possible when we surrender ourselves to God. Do my words and deeds declare God’s steadfast love and faithfulness? How can my gifts provide shade and shelter to those in need?

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

FAMILY MEALS TOGETHER

A recent report from the United States claims that children who were expected to sit down with the rest of the family at meal times, and who were encouraged to talk at the table, were doing better at school, had higher self-esteem, better social competence, and had better prospects of getting a job.

This report confirms a study conducted 25 years ago in Melbourne, 'Talk Up at the Table'. The author, Don Edgar, foundation director of the Australian Institute of Family Studies (EQ Australia, Issue 1, Autumn 1998) had been looking for the correlates of adolescent competence: which kids with what sorts of parents were most likely to do well. He found that on almost every outcome measure - school results, self esteem, social competence, optimism versus pessimism, good parent-child relationships, an expectation of later success in life - the kids (whether rich or poor) who were allowed to chatter and exchange ideas at meal times scored significantly higher than those who were told to shut up and eat their meals.

At the time, he interpreted the meal talk factor as illustrative of an openness on the part of parents to the free expression of ideas, mutual respect within the family, and warmth and structure combining to give children a sense of place and security in their lives. The new US study renews his faith in the efficacy of eating together and letting the meal talk flow. It may be noisy, argumentative and hard to manage, with parents and young people working different hours, but its outcomes are worth the trouble. Pity the poor family that never cooks its own meals, never sits at the one table, never has to cope with the noisy conflict of everyone wanting to talk at once.

 

From A Canopy of Stars: Some Reflections for the Journey by Fr Christopher Gleeson SJ [David Lovell Publishing 2003]

(www.churchresources.info)

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Supporting Our Church
Let us continue to draw directly from the Church, especially from the local Church, all that is necessary to live a life of the Spirit—sacraments, authority, ministries, and doctrine. Let us continue to pour out all that we are directly into the bosom of life that is the Church.
— from Sober Intoxication of the Spirit

(www.americancatholic.org)

St. Emily de Vialar

St. Emily de Vialar

Feastday: June 17

St. Emily de Vialar, Virgin, Foundress of the Sisters of St. Joseph "of the Apparition"

Anne Marguerite Adelaide Emily de Vialar was the eldest child and only daughter of Baron James Augustine de Vialar and his wife Antoinette, daughter of that Baron de Portal who was physician-in-ordinary to Louis XVIII and Charles X of France. She was born at Gaillac in Languedoc in 1797. At the age of fifteen she was removed from school in Paris to be companion to her father, now a widower, at Gaillac; but unhappily, differences arose between them because of Emily's refusal to consider a suitable marriage.

For fifteen years, Emily was the good angel of Gaillac, devoting herself to the care of children neglected by theirparents and to the help of the poor generally. In 1832, her maternal grandfather died, leaving her a share of his estate which was a quite considerable fortune. She bought a large house at Gaillac and took possession of it with three companions. Others joined them and three months later, thearchbishop authorized the Abbe to clothe twelve postulants with the religious habit. They called themselves the Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph of the Apparition. Their work was to be the care of the needy, especially the sick, and the education of children. In 1835, she made her profession with seventeen other sisters, and received formal approval for the rule of the Congregation.

The foundress, in the course of twenty-two years, saw her Congregation grow from one to some forty houses, many of which she had founded in person. The physical energy and achievements of St. Emily de Vialar are the more remarkable in that from her youth she was troubled by hernia, contracted characteristically in doing a deed of charity. From 1850 this became more and more serious, and it hastened her end, which came on August 24, 1856. The burden of her last testament to her daughters was "Love one another". Her canonization took place in 1951; her feast is June 17th.

(www.catholic.org)

LECTIO: 11TH SUNDAY OF ORDINARY TIME (B)

Lectio: 

 Sunday, June 17, 2012

The Parables of the Kingdom of God The Kingdom is like a seed

Mark 4,26-34

1. Opening Prayer

Lord Jesus, send us your Spirit, to open the Scriptures for us in the same way that you opened them for the disciples on the road to Emmaus. With the light of the Word, written in the Bible, you helped them to discover the presence of God in the terrible events of your condemnation and crucifixion. Thus, the cross, that seemed to be the end of all hope, could be seen by them as the source of life and resurrection.

Create in us the silence that will enable us to listen to your voice in creation and in Scripture, in the events of life and in other people, especially in the poor and the suffering. May your Word direct us so that we too, just like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, may experience the power of your resurrection and be witnesses for others of the truth that you are alive and that you live in our midst, as the source of fraternity, peace and justice. We ask this of you, Jesus, Son of Mary, who have revealed the Father to us and have sent us your Holy Spirit. Amen.

2. Reading

 a) A division of the text that will help our understanding

 Mk 4,26-29: The parable of the seed that springs up on its own

Mk 4,30-32: The parable of the grain of mustard

Mk 4,33-34: The conclusion regarding parables.

 b) The text: Mk 4,26-34

He also said, "The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come."

He also said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

 3. A Moment of Prayerful Silence

  - so that the Word of God may enter and enlighten our lives.

 4. Questions

to help us in our prayer and meditation

a) What point struck you most? Why? 

b) Jesus did not explain the parables. He told the stories and awakened the imagination in his listeners and their reflection on what they discovered. What have you discovered in the parables?   
c) The purpose of these words is to make life transparent. Over the years, has your life become more transparent, or has the opposite happened?

5. For those who want to look more deeply at the theme

a) For a better understanding

Why Jesus taught through parables:  Jesus recounted many parables. All of them are taken from the life of the people. In this way he helped people to discover the things of God in everyday life, as life becomes more transparent, because the extraordinary things of God are hidden in the ordinary and common things of everyday life. The people could understand the things of life. The parables provide the key that opens that life and finds the signs of God in it.

Through the parables, Jesus helped the people to see the mysterious presence of the Kingdom in the things of life. A parable is a comparison. Jesus used the known and obvious things of life to help to explain the invisible and unknown things of the Kingdom of God. For example, the people of Galilee understood when someone talked about seeds, land, rain, sunshine, salt, flowers, fish, harvest etc., Jesus used all these things that the people knew very well, in his parables, to help to explain the mystery of the Kingdom.

The parable of the sower is a portrait of a farmer’s life. At that time, it was hard to make a living from farming. The land was full of stones. There were many rough plants, not a lot of rain, and a strong sun. As well as that, often, the people in order to take shortcuts walked across the land and trampled on the plants (Mk 2,23). Despite all that, every year the farmer would plant, trusting in the power of the seed and in the generosity of nature.

A parable doesn’t say everything, but induces a person to think and make discoveries, beginning with the experience the listeners have of the seed. This is not a neatly packaged doctrine that arrives all ready to be taught and embellished. The parable does not provide water in a bottle, but rather, leads people to the source. A farmer, listening, would say, “Seed in the ground, I know what that is, but Jesus is saying that this has something to do with the Kingdom of God! What could that be?” It’s not difficult to imagine the long conversations that might follow with the crowd. The parable moves with the people and gets them to listen to nature and to think about life. 

b) Commentary on the text

It is wonderful to see Jesus, again and again, looking at life and at what’s happening around him, for things and images that might help the people to detect and to experience the presence of the Kingdom. In today’s Gospel, again, he tells two short stories about things that happen every day in our lives: The story of the seed that grows, all on its own, and the story of the tiny mustard that grows to be so big”.

The story of the seed that grows all on its own

The farmer who plants the seed knows the process: first the seed, then the green shoot, the leaf, the ear and the grain. The farmer knows how to wait and will not cut the stalk before it is time, but he does not know from where the power comes for the soil, the rain, the sun and the seed to make a seed turn into fruit. That’s what the Kingdom of God is like. It’s a process. There are stages and points of growth. It takes time and happens in time. The fruit comes at the right time but no one can explain its mysterious power. No one is its master!. Only God! 

The story of the tiny mustard seed that turns into something very big

The mustard seed is small, but it grows, to the point where the birds can make their nests in its branches. That’s what the Kingdom is like. It begins as something very small, it grows and spreads its branches. The parable does not say who the birds are. The answer to that question will come later in the Gospel. The text suggests that it refers to the pagans who will not be able to get into the community and be sharers in the Kingdom.

Jesus explained the parable to his disciples

In the house, when they were on their own with Jesus, the disciples want to know what the parable means. They do not understand it. Jesus is astonished by their failure to understand (Mk 4:13) and at that point responds in a way that is difficult and mysterious. He says to his disciples, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that 'they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.'" (Mk 4:11-12) This makes the people wonder, What use is the parable then? Is it to make things clear or to hide them? Perhaps Jesus uses parables so that people will go on living in ignorance and not become converted? Certainly not!. Today’s Gospel says that, “with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it” (Mk4:33)

The parable reveals and hides at the same time! It reveals, to those who have become attuned, who accept Jesus, the Servant Messiah. It hides, from those who insist on seeing him as Messiah, mighty King. These see the images of the parable but they do not grasp their meaning.

6. Prayer - Psalm 96

Tell of his salvation from day to day

O sing to the Lord a new song;

sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

his marvelous works among all the peoples.

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

he is to be revered above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

but the Lord made the heavens.

Honor and majesty are before him;

strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

bring an offering, and come into his courts.

Worship the Lord in holy splendor;

tremble before him, all the earth.

Say among the nations, "The Lord is king!

The world is firmly established;

it shall never be moved.

He will judge the peoples with equity."

Let the heavens be glad,

and let the earth rejoice;

let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

let the field exult, and everything in it.

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy

before the Lord; for he is coming,

for he is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

and the peoples with his truth.                                  

7. Closing Prayer

Lord Jesus, we give you thanks for your word that has helped us to see more clearly what is the will of the Father. Let your Spirit enlighten our actions and give us the strength to be able to do what your word had allowed us to see. Let us, like Mary your Mother, not just listen to the your Word, but also to put it into practice. You live and reign with the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, forever and ever. Amen

(www.ocarm.org)