Saturday of the
Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 400
Lectionary: 400
When Moses came to
the people
and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD,
they all answered with one voice,
“We will do everything that the LORD has told us.”
Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and,
rising early the next day,
he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar
and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then, having sent certain young men of the children of Israel
to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice young bulls
as peace offerings to the LORD,
Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls;
the other half he splashed on the altar.
Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,
who answered, “All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do.”
Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying,
“This is the blood of the covenant
that the LORD has made with you
in accordance with all these words of his.”
and related all the words and ordinances of the LORD,
they all answered with one voice,
“We will do everything that the LORD has told us.”
Moses then wrote down all the words of the LORD and,
rising early the next day,
he erected at the foot of the mountain an altar
and twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel.
Then, having sent certain young men of the children of Israel
to offer burnt offerings and sacrifice young bulls
as peace offerings to the LORD,
Moses took half of the blood and put it in large bowls;
the other half he splashed on the altar.
Taking the book of the covenant, he read it aloud to the people,
who answered, “All that the LORD has said, we will heed and do.”
Then he took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, saying,
“This is the blood of the covenant
that the LORD has made with you
in accordance with all these words of his.”
Responsorial PsalmPS 50:1B-2, 5-6, 14-15
R. (14a) Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
God the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
“Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
“Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High;
Then call upon me in time of distress;
I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me.”
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
God the LORD has spoken and summoned the earth,
from the rising of the sun to its setting.
From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines forth.
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
“Gather my faithful ones before me,
those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
And the heavens proclaim his justice;
for God himself is the judge.
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
“Offer to God praise as your sacrifice
and fulfill your vows to the Most High;
Then call upon me in time of distress;
I will rescue you, and you shall glorify me.”
R. Offer to God a sacrifice of praise.
GospelMT 13:24-30
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field.
While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.
When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.
The slaves of the householder came to him and said,
‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where have the weeds come from?’
He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds
you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;
but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
Meditation: "An enemy sowed weeds among the
wheat"
What can malicious
weed-sowing tell us about the kingdom of God? The image Jesus uses here is a
common everyday example of planting, harvesting, and sorting the good fruit
from the bad. Weeds can spoil and even kill a good harvest if they are not separated
and destroyed at the proper time. Uprooting them too early, though, can destroy
the good plants in the process. Just as nature teaches us patience, so God's
patience also teaches us to guard the word which he has planted in our hearts
and to beware of the destructive force of sin and deception which can destroy
it. God's word brings life, but Satan, the father of lies, seeks to destroy the
good seed which God plants in the hearts of those who listen to his word. God's
judgment is not hasty, but it does come. And in the end, God will reward each
person according to what he or she has sown and reaped in this life. In that
day God will separate the evil from the good. Do you allow God's word to take
deep root in your heart?"Lord Jesus, may your word take deep root in my heart and may I bear good fruit for your glory. May I hunger for your righteousness now that I may also look forward to the day of judgment with joy rather than with dismay."
 Rolling Up the Sleeves and Gathering the Sheaves |
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Saturday of the
Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time
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Father Robert DeCesare, LC
Matthew 13: 24-30
Jesus proposed
another parable to them. "The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man
who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came
and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew
and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder
came to him and said, ´Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where
have the weeds come from?´ He answered, ´An enemy has done this.´ His slaves
said to him, ´Do you want us to go and pull them up?´ He replied, ´No, if you
pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow
together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,
"First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather
the wheat into my barn."´
Introductory Prayer: Lord, I believe in your Church. I believe that it is the
sacrament of salvation, and that you have chosen to lead me to heaven. Lord,
I hope in you. I hope in you because you have gone to prepare a place for me
in heaven. Lord, I love you because you loved me first. I love you for giving
yourself up for me on the cross.
Petition: Forgive me, Lord, for offending you, and help me to make
reparation.
1. Verdant Farm or
Barren Wasteland? Lord,
you have given me the gift of Baptism and of being your child. “Baptism is
God´s most beautiful and magnificent gift” (Catechism of the Catholic
Church, 1216). This gift you have given me is something that I do not
deserve. I was born with original sin, and yet, out of your infinite goodness
and mercy, you have chosen to nourish my barren field and offer me the
Kingdom of heaven. Through the life-giving waters of the sacrament of
Baptism, you have taken my field that used to be wasteland and desert and
have made it flourish. You have sown wheat in my field so that it may yield
abundant fruit.
2. A Tainted
Field? Lord, even though you
have grafted me into your family through Baptism, there are times when I
forget the goal of my life, which is heaven. I am weak, and because of my
weakness, at times I taint my field with weeds. “Certain temporal
consequences of sin remain in the baptized, such as suffering, illness,
death, and such frailties inherent in life as weaknesses of character, and so
on, as well as an inclination to sin that Tradition calls concupiscence, or
metaphorically, ‘the tinder for sin’ (fomes peccati); since concupiscence
‘is left for us to wrestle with, it cannot harm those who do not consent but
manfully resist it by the grace of Jesus Christ.’ Indeed, ‘an athlete is not
crowned unless he competes according to the rules’” (Catechism of the
Catholic Church, 1264).
3. God Never Gives
Up On Me: Lord, even though I
have let weeds grow in my field where there was once only wheat, you have
given me time to let the good grain grow. You know that all is not lost.
There is still hope, and there is still time. Even though I have offended you
because of my sins, and even though I have not conquered myself and my
tendency to sin, I still experience your love and your mercy. You have not
given up on me, although it seems to me that I have often given up on myself.
You have given me the gift of time for me to weed my field and to increase
the good wheat that is within it, so that the harvest I bear may be fruitful
and rich.
Conversation with
Christ: Lord, thank you for
the gift of your mercy. Thank you for being patient with me, for loving me
for who I am, and for encouraging me to continue to grow as I should.
Resolution: I shall take some time to prepare to make a
good confession.
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SATURDAY, JULY 27
MATTHEW 13:24-30
MATTHEW 13:24-30
(Exodus 24:3-8; Psalm 50)
KEY VERSE: "Let them grow together until harvest" (v 30).
READING: The parable of the weeds among the wheat is a story of good and evil, which will exist together until the end of the world. The image in this parable would be familiar to the farmers in Jesus' audience. Anunderhanded man deliberately sowing bad seed in someone else's field was sometimes done. The weed in the story was darnel, a poisonous plant that looked very much like wheat when it was young. So it is with evil; it is difficult to detect in its early stages until it grows strong and destroys what is good. But to pull up the weeds before the wheat matured would endanger its immature roots. When the wheat ripened it grew taller and stronger than the weeds. Then the experienced eye could distinguish the two and easily separate them. Jesus said that it was not the work of God's servants to make this judgment. Both the weeds and the wheat should be allowed to flourish until the harvest when the testing of time would separate error from truth.
REFLECTING: Am I judgmental toward others?
PRAYING: Lord Jesus, help me to refrain from judging the actions of others until I know the truth.
OPTIONAL MEMORIAL OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
Chapter V of the Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy, issued by the Holy See in December 2001, describes the Church's traditional dedication of Saturday to the Virgin Mary. "Saturdays stand out among those days dedicated to the Virgin Mary. These are designated as memorials of the Blessed Virgin Mary" (218). The chapter also describes the importance of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, in Catholic devotional life, including the Liturgy, and includes reflections on popular devotions to Mary, her feast days, and the Rosary. See the complete document on Vatican web site (www.vatican.va) Directory on Popular Piety and the Liturgy.
Offer to God a sacrifice of praise
'Let both grow till the harvest.'What a beautifully consoling parable. What a wonderful exhortation to patience with ourselves and with others. Often, more aware of our faults than of the richness that lies within, we spend energy trying to root out faults, rather than letting our richness grow. And our awareness of others’ faults blocks our perception of the goodness in them.
In the Eucharist we are called to look at ourselves as we really are and become reconciled to being who we are. Lord, I know you love me with all my limitations and imperfections, even sins. There are many harvest times in my life when I look back and see the growth of my capacity to trust, to hope and to love. Even with that darn darnel still there!
July 25
Blessed Antonio Lucci
(1682-1752)
Blessed Antonio Lucci
(1682-1752)
Antonio studied with and was a friend of St. Francesco Antonio
Fasani, who after Antonio Lucci’s death testified at the diocesan hearings
regarding the holiness of Lucci.
Born in Agnone in southern Italy, a city famous for manufacturing
bells and copper crafts, he was given the name Angelo at Baptism. He attended
the local school run by the Conventual Franciscans and joined them at the age
of 16. Antonio completed his studies for the priesthood in Assisi, where he was
ordained in 1705. Further studies led to a doctorate in theology and
appointments as a teacher in Agnone, Ravello and Naples. He also served as
guardian in Naples.
Elected minister provincial in 1718, the following year he was
appointed professor at St. Bonaventure College in Rome, a position he held
until Pope Benedict XIII chose him as bishop of Bovino (near Foggia) in 1729.
The pope explained, "I have chosen as bishop of Bovino an eminent
theologian and a great saint."
His 23 years as bishop were marked by visits to local parishes and
a renewal of gospel living among the people of his diocese. He dedicated his
episcopal income to works of education and charity. At the urging of the
Conventual minister general, Bishop Lucci wrote a major book about the saints
and blesseds in the first 200 years of the Conventual Franciscans.
He was beatified in 1989, three years after his friend Francesco
Antonio Fasani was canonized.
Comment:
As Pope Paul VI wrote in 1975, people today "are more impressed by witnesses than by teachers, and if they listen to these it is because they also bear witness" (Evangelization in the Modern World, #41).
As Pope Paul VI wrote in 1975, people today "are more impressed by witnesses than by teachers, and if they listen to these it is because they also bear witness" (Evangelization in the Modern World, #41).
Quote:
When Francis of Assisi learned that Anthony of Padua was teaching theology to the friars in Bologna, Francis wrote: "It pleases me that you teach sacred theology to the brothers, as long as—in the words of the Rule—you do not extinguish the spirit of prayer and devotion with study of this kind."
When Francis of Assisi learned that Anthony of Padua was teaching theology to the friars in Bologna, Francis wrote: "It pleases me that you teach sacred theology to the brothers, as long as—in the words of the Rule—you do not extinguish the spirit of prayer and devotion with study of this kind."
LECTIO: MATTHEW 13,24-30
Lectio:
Saturday, July
27, 2013
Ordinary Time
1) Opening prayer
Lord,
be merciful to your people.
Fill us with your gifts
and make us always eager to serve you
in faith, hope and love.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
be merciful to your people.
Fill us with your gifts
and make us always eager to serve you
in faith, hope and love.
You live and reign with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
2) Gospel Reading -
Matthew 13,24-30
Jesus put another
parable before them, 'The kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a man who sowed
good seed in his field. While everybody was asleep his enemy came, sowed darnel
all among the wheat, and made off.
When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, then the darnel appeared as well. The owner's labourers went to him and said, "Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?"
He said to them, "Some enemy has done this." And the labourers said, "Do you want us to go and weed it out?" But he said, "No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn." '
When the new wheat sprouted and ripened, then the darnel appeared as well. The owner's labourers went to him and said, "Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?"
He said to them, "Some enemy has done this." And the labourers said, "Do you want us to go and weed it out?" But he said, "No, because when you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest; and at harvest time I shall say to the reapers: First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burnt, then gather the wheat into my barn." '
3) Reflection
• Today’s Gospel
speaks to us about the parable of the seed. Whether in society or in the
community or in our family and personal life, there is a mixture of good
qualities and of incoherencies, limitations and errors. Persons of diverse
origins, each one with her own story, with her own lived experience, her own
opinion, her own yearnings, her own differences, meet in community There are
some persons who do not know how to live with differences. They want to be the
judges of others. They think that they are the only ones who are right, and
that others are in error. The parable of the seed and the darnel helps us not
to fall into the temptation of excluding from the community those who do not
think like us.
•The background of the parable of the seed and the darnel. During centuries, because of the observance of the laws of purity, the Jews lived separated from other nations. This isolation had marked them. Even after being converted, some continued to follow this observance which separated them from others. They wanted total purity! Any sign of impurity had to be eradicated in the name of God. “Sin cannot be tolerated” some would say. But others, as for example Paul, taught that the new law which Jesus asked them to observe said the contrary! “Sin cannot be tolerated, but it is necessary to be tolerant with the sinner!”
• Matthews 13,24-26: The situation: the darnel and the wheat grain grow together.The Word of God causes communities to be formed and this is good seed, but within the communities there are always things which are contrary to the Word of God. From where do these come? This was the discussion, or mystery which led to keep the parable of the darnel and the wheat.
• Matthew 13, 27-28a: The origin of the mixture which exists in life. The labourers asked the owner, the sower: “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” The owner responded: Some enemy has done this. Who is this enemy? The enemy, the adversary, Satan or the Devil (Mt 13,39), is the one who divides, who takes away from the right path. The tendency to division exists in the community and in each one of us. The desire to dominate, to take advantage of the community in order to be more important and so many other interested desires divide, they are the enemy which sleeps in each one of us.
• Matthew 13,28b-30: The diverse reaction before ambiguity. In the face of this mixture of good and of evil, the labourers want to eliminate the darnel. They thought: "If we leave everything in the community, we lose our reason for being! We lose our identity!” They wanted to send away those whom they thought were diverse. But this is not the decision of the owner of the land. He says: “Let both the darnel and the wheat grow together till the harvest!” What is decisive is not what each one says, but that which each one lives and does. God will judge us according to the fruit which we will produce (Mt 12,33). The force and the dynamism of the Kingdom will manifest themselves in the community. Even if it is small and full of contradictions, it is a sign of the Kingdom. But it is not the master or the owner of the Kingdom, neither can it consider itself totally just. The parable of the seed and of the darnel explains the way in which the force of the Kingdom acts in history. It is necessary to make a clear option for the justice of the Kingdom, and at the same time, together fight for justice, have patience and learn to live and to dialogue with differences and with contradictions. When harvest comes then there will be the division, the separation.
• The teaching in Parables. The parable is a pedagogical instrument which uses the daily life to indicate that life speaks to us of God. It becomes a reality and renders the look of people contemplative. A parable tends towards the things of life, and because of this it is an open teaching, because we all have some experience of things of life. The teaching in parables makes the person start from the experience that she has: seed, light, sheep, flowers, birds, father, net, little children, fish, etc. In this way daily life becomes transparent, revealing the presence and the action of God. Jesus did not usually explain the parables. He left the sense open, he did not determine it. This was a sign that he believed in the capacity of the people to discover the sense of the parable beginning from the experience of life. Some times, at the request from the disciples, he would explain the sense (Mt 13,10.36). For example, this is what he did with the parable of the seed and the darnel (Mt 13,36-43).
•The background of the parable of the seed and the darnel. During centuries, because of the observance of the laws of purity, the Jews lived separated from other nations. This isolation had marked them. Even after being converted, some continued to follow this observance which separated them from others. They wanted total purity! Any sign of impurity had to be eradicated in the name of God. “Sin cannot be tolerated” some would say. But others, as for example Paul, taught that the new law which Jesus asked them to observe said the contrary! “Sin cannot be tolerated, but it is necessary to be tolerant with the sinner!”
• Matthews 13,24-26: The situation: the darnel and the wheat grain grow together.The Word of God causes communities to be formed and this is good seed, but within the communities there are always things which are contrary to the Word of God. From where do these come? This was the discussion, or mystery which led to keep the parable of the darnel and the wheat.
• Matthew 13, 27-28a: The origin of the mixture which exists in life. The labourers asked the owner, the sower: “Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed in your field? If so, where does the darnel come from?” The owner responded: Some enemy has done this. Who is this enemy? The enemy, the adversary, Satan or the Devil (Mt 13,39), is the one who divides, who takes away from the right path. The tendency to division exists in the community and in each one of us. The desire to dominate, to take advantage of the community in order to be more important and so many other interested desires divide, they are the enemy which sleeps in each one of us.
• Matthew 13,28b-30: The diverse reaction before ambiguity. In the face of this mixture of good and of evil, the labourers want to eliminate the darnel. They thought: "If we leave everything in the community, we lose our reason for being! We lose our identity!” They wanted to send away those whom they thought were diverse. But this is not the decision of the owner of the land. He says: “Let both the darnel and the wheat grow together till the harvest!” What is decisive is not what each one says, but that which each one lives and does. God will judge us according to the fruit which we will produce (Mt 12,33). The force and the dynamism of the Kingdom will manifest themselves in the community. Even if it is small and full of contradictions, it is a sign of the Kingdom. But it is not the master or the owner of the Kingdom, neither can it consider itself totally just. The parable of the seed and of the darnel explains the way in which the force of the Kingdom acts in history. It is necessary to make a clear option for the justice of the Kingdom, and at the same time, together fight for justice, have patience and learn to live and to dialogue with differences and with contradictions. When harvest comes then there will be the division, the separation.
• The teaching in Parables. The parable is a pedagogical instrument which uses the daily life to indicate that life speaks to us of God. It becomes a reality and renders the look of people contemplative. A parable tends towards the things of life, and because of this it is an open teaching, because we all have some experience of things of life. The teaching in parables makes the person start from the experience that she has: seed, light, sheep, flowers, birds, father, net, little children, fish, etc. In this way daily life becomes transparent, revealing the presence and the action of God. Jesus did not usually explain the parables. He left the sense open, he did not determine it. This was a sign that he believed in the capacity of the people to discover the sense of the parable beginning from the experience of life. Some times, at the request from the disciples, he would explain the sense (Mt 13,10.36). For example, this is what he did with the parable of the seed and the darnel (Mt 13,36-43).
4) Personal questions
• How is the mixture
between the seed and the darnel manifested in our community? Which are the
consequences of this for our life?
• Looking into the mirror of the parable, with whom do I feel more in agreement: with the labourers who want to cut away the darnel, or with the owner of the field who orders to wait until the time of the harvest?
• Looking into the mirror of the parable, with whom do I feel more in agreement: with the labourers who want to cut away the darnel, or with the owner of the field who orders to wait until the time of the harvest?
5) Concluding Prayer
My whole being yearns
and pines
for Yahweh's courts,
My heart and my body cry out
for joy to the living God. (Ps 84,2)
for Yahweh's courts,
My heart and my body cry out
for joy to the living God. (Ps 84,2)
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