Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in
Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 397
Lectionary: 397
The children of Israel set out from Elim,
and came into the desert of Sin,
which is between Elim and Sinai,
on the fifteenth day of the second month
after their departure from the land of Egypt.
Here in the desert the whole assembly of the children of Israel
grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The children of Israel said to them,
"Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt,
as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!
But you had to lead us into this desert
to make the whole community die of famine!"
Then the LORD said to Moses,
"I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.
Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion;
thus will I test them,
to see whether they follow my instructions or not.
On the sixth day, however, when they prepare what they bring in,
let it be twice as much as they gather on the other days."
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Tell the whole congregation
of the children of Israel:
Present yourselves before the LORD,
for he has heard your grumbling."
When Aaron announced this to the whole assembly of the children of Israel,
they turned toward the desert, and lo,
the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud!
The LORD spoke to Moses and said,
"I have heard the grumbling of the children of Israel.
Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread,
so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God."
In the evening quail came up and covered the camp.
In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,
and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert
were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.
On seeing it, the children of Israel asked one another, "What is this?"
for they did not know what it was.
But Moses told them,
"This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat."
and came into the desert of Sin,
which is between Elim and Sinai,
on the fifteenth day of the second month
after their departure from the land of Egypt.
Here in the desert the whole assembly of the children of Israel
grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The children of Israel said to them,
"Would that we had died at the LORD's hand in the land of Egypt,
as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!
But you had to lead us into this desert
to make the whole community die of famine!"
Then the LORD said to Moses,
"I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.
Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion;
thus will I test them,
to see whether they follow my instructions or not.
On the sixth day, however, when they prepare what they bring in,
let it be twice as much as they gather on the other days."
Then Moses said to Aaron, "Tell the whole congregation
of the children of Israel:
Present yourselves before the LORD,
for he has heard your grumbling."
When Aaron announced this to the whole assembly of the children of Israel,
they turned toward the desert, and lo,
the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud!
The LORD spoke to Moses and said,
"I have heard the grumbling of the children of Israel.
Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread,
so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God."
In the evening quail came up and covered the camp.
In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,
and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert
were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.
On seeing it, the children of Israel asked one another, "What is this?"
for they did not know what it was.
But Moses told them,
"This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat."
Responsorial
PsalmPS 78:18-19, 23-24,
25-26, 27-28
R. (24b) The
Lord gave them bread from heaven.
They tempted God in their hearts
by demanding the food they craved.
Yes, they spoke against God, saying,
"Can God spread a table in the desert?"
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Yet he commanded the skies above
and the doors of heaven he opened;
He rained manna upon them for food
and gave them heavenly bread.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Man ate the bread of angels,
food he sent them in abundance.
He stirred up the east wind in the heavens,
and by his power brought on the south wind.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
And he rained meat upon them like dust,
and, like the sand of the sea, winged fowl,
Which fell in the midst of their camp
round about their tents.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
They tempted God in their hearts
by demanding the food they craved.
Yes, they spoke against God, saying,
"Can God spread a table in the desert?"
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Yet he commanded the skies above
and the doors of heaven he opened;
He rained manna upon them for food
and gave them heavenly bread.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Man ate the bread of angels,
food he sent them in abundance.
He stirred up the east wind in the heavens,
and by his power brought on the south wind.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
And he rained meat upon them like dust,
and, like the sand of the sea, winged fowl,
Which fell in the midst of their camp
round about their tents.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia,
alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelMT 13:1-9
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
"A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
"A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."
For the readings of the Optional Memorial of Saint Sharbel Makhluf, please
go here.
Meditation:
"Since they had no root they withered away"
: Are you hungry for
God's word? Matthew tells us that Jesus taught many things to those who came to
listen and learn. Jesus' teaching method was a very simple one. He used
parables - short stories and images taken from everyday life to convey hidden
truths about the kingdom of God. Like a skillful artist, Jesus painted
evocative pictures with short and simple words. A good image can speak more
loudly and clearly than many words. Jesus used the ordinary everyday images of
life and nature to point to another order of reality - hidden, yet visible to
those who had "eyes to see" and "ears to hear". Jesus
communicated with pictures and stories, vivid illustrations which captured the
imaginations of his audience more powerfully than an abstract presentation
could. His parables are like buried treasure waiting to be discovered (Matthew
13:44).
Sowing
seeds that take root and grow
What does the parable about seeds and roots say to us about the kingdom of God? Any farmer will attest to the importance of good soil for supplying nutrients for growth. And how does a plant get the necessary food and water it needs except by its roots? The Scriptures frequently use the image of fruit-bearing plants or trees to convey the principle of spiritual life and death. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit (Jeremiah 17:7-8; see also Psalm 1:3).
What does the parable about seeds and roots say to us about the kingdom of God? Any farmer will attest to the importance of good soil for supplying nutrients for growth. And how does a plant get the necessary food and water it needs except by its roots? The Scriptures frequently use the image of fruit-bearing plants or trees to convey the principle of spiritual life and death. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit (Jeremiah 17:7-8; see also Psalm 1:3).
The
shut mind and prejudiced hearer
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 what he or she doesn't want to hear. Then there is the shallow hearer. He or she fails to think things out or think them through; they lack depth. They may initially respond with an emotional reaction; but when it wears off their mind wanders to something else.
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 what he or she doesn't want to hear. Then there is the shallow hearer. He or she fails to think things out or think them through; they lack depth. They may initially respond with an emotional reaction; but when it wears off their mind wanders to something else.
Too
busy and preoccupied to listen
Another type of hearer is the person who has many interests or cares, but who lacks the ability to hear or comprehend what is truly important. Such a person is for ever too busy to pray or too preoccupied to study and meditate on God's word. He or she may work so hard that they are too tired to even think of anything else but their work. Then there is the one whose mind is open. Such a person is at all times willing to listen and to learn. He or she is never too proud or too busy to learn. They listen in order to understand. God gives grace to those who hunger for his word that they may understand his will and have the strength to live according to it. Do you hunger for God's word?
Another type of hearer is the person who has many interests or cares, but who lacks the ability to hear or comprehend what is truly important. Such a person is for ever too busy to pray or too preoccupied to study and meditate on God's word. He or she may work so hard that they are too tired to even think of anything else but their work. Then there is the one whose mind is open. Such a person is at all times willing to listen and to learn. He or she is never too proud or too busy to learn. They listen in order to understand. God gives grace to those who hunger for his word that they may understand his will and have the strength to live according to it. 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: Shallow and rootless minds, by
Cyril of Alexandria (375-444 AD)
"Let
us look, as from a broader perspective, at what it means to be on the road. In
a way, every road is hardened and foolish on account of the fact that it lies
beneath everyone's feet. No kind of seed finds there enough depth of soil for a
covering. Instead, it lies on the surface and is ready to be snatched up by the
birds that come by. Therefore those who have in themselves a mind hardened and,
as it were, packed tight do not receive the divine seed but become a
well-trodden way for the unclean spirits. These are what is here meant by 'the
birds of the heaven.' But 'heaven' we understand to mean this air, in which the
spirits of wickedness move about, by whom, again, the good seed is snatched up
and destroyed. Then what are those upon the rock? They are those people who do
not take much care of the faith they have in themselves. They have not set
their minds to understand the touchstone of the mystery [of communion with
Christ]. The reverence these people have toward God is shallow and rootless. It
is in times of ease and fair weather that they practice Christianity, when it
involves none of the painful trials of winter. They will not preserve their
faith in this way, if in times of tumultuous persecution their soul is not
prepared for the struggle." (Excerpt from FRAGMENT 168)
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24, MATTHEW 13:1-9
Weekday
(Exodus 16:1-5, 9-15; Psalm 78)
Weekday
(Exodus 16:1-5, 9-15; Psalm 78)
KEY VERSE: "But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold" (v. 8).
TO KNOW: Chapter 13 of Matthew's gospel is Jesus' third sermon, consisting almost entirely of parables (Hebrew, mashal). Jesus' parables were primarily stories that invited the hearer to search for the meaning of Christian truths that he was teaching, and put them into action. In the parable of the sower, Jesus referred to the planting methods employed in Palestine of his day. Since the seed was sown on rocky and unproductive soil, a great deal of the farmer's efforts were wasted and the crop was only moderately successful. Jesus compared this to his task of proclaiming God's word. Although it was arduous work, Jesus' followers were privileged to have heard his words. They were the "rich soil" that would produce abundant fruit. He encouraged them to persevere in their task no matter how many accepted their message or rewarded them for their labor.
TO LOVE: Do I persist in proclaiming the gospel when I am discouraged?
TO SERVE: Lord Jesus, open my ears to your revealed truth.
Optional Memorial of Saint Sharbel Makhlūf, priest
Joseph Zaroun Makhlūf, was born in Northern Lebanon and raised by an uncle who opposed the boy's youthful piety. At age 23 Joseph snuck away to join the Baladite monastery of Saint Maron at Annaya where he took the name Sharbel in memory of a 2nd century martyr. He became a hermit from 1875 until his death 23 years later. He gained a reputation for holiness, and was sought after for counseling. Sharbel had a great devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, and was known to levitate during his prayers. He was briefly paralyzed for unknown reasons just before his death. There were several post-mortem miracles attributed to him, including periods in 1927 and 1950 when a bloody "sweat" flowed from his corpse. His tomb has become a place of pilgrimage for Lebanese and non-Lebanese, Christian and non-Christian alike. He was canonized 9 October 1977 by Pope Paul VI.
Wednesday 24 July 2019
Exodus 16:1-5, 9-15. Psalm 77(78):18-19, 23-28. Matthew 13:1-9.
The Lord gave them bread from heaven – Psalm 77(78):18-19, 23-28
‘Listen, you who have ears to hear.’
The Lord gave them bread from heaven – Psalm 77(78):18-19, 23-28
‘Listen, you who have ears to hear.’
Jesus, alone on a boat with the expanse of lake behind him,
speaks in parables to the crowds gathered expectantly on the shoreline. They
hear the story of the sower, where the seed that falls on rocky ground or
amongst thorny plants ultimately fails, while the seed sown on fertile soil
produces a good crop.
Before being scattered, each seed is equal in potential. The
future awaits, for a seed remains a seed until the right conditions spark the
first green shoots. Do we have the patience, the willingness to sow the seeds
of our own potential with care? To take time to nurture our spiritual growth in
God’s word, the rich soil that sustains over time?
Spirit of life, just as the crowds listened and sought to
understand Jesus’ message by the Lake of Galilee, grant that we today may also
hear and understand.
Saint of the Day for July 24
Saint Charbel Makhlouf
(May 8, 1828 – December 24, 1898 )
Saint Sharbel Makhluf’s Story
Although this saint never traveled far from the Lebanese village
of Beka-Kafra where he was born, his influence has spread widely.
Joseph Zaroun Makluf was raised by an uncle because his father,
a mule driver, died when Joseph was only three. At the age of 23, Joseph joined
the Monastery of St. Maron at Annaya, Lebanon, and took the name Sharbel in
honor of a second-century martyr. He professed his final vows in 1853, and was
ordained six years later.
Following the example of the fifth-century Saint Maron,
Sharbel lived as a hermit from 1875, until his death. His reputation for
holiness prompted people to seek him to receive a blessing and to be remembered
in his prayers. He followed a strict fast and was very devoted to the Blessed
Sacrament. When his superiors occasionally asked him to administer the
sacraments to nearby villages, Sharbel did so gladly.
He died in the late afternoon on Christmas Eve. Christians and
non-Christians soon made his tomb a place of pilgrimage and of cures. Pope
Paul VI beatified Sharbel in 1965, and canonized him 12 years later.
Reflection
John Paul II often said that the Church has two lungs—East and
West—and it must learn to breathe using both of them. Remembering saints like
Sharbel helps the Church to appreciate both the diversity and unity present in
the Catholic Church. Like all the saints, Sharbel points us to God and invites
us to cooperate generously with God’s grace, no matter what our situation in
life may be. As our prayer life becomes deeper and more honest, we become more
ready to make that generous response.
Lectio Divina: Matthew 13:1-9
Lectio Divina
Wednesday, July 24, 2019
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 13:1-9
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the
sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat
down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length
in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed
fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground,
where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some
seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed
fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."
3) Reflection
• In chapter 13 of the Gospel of Matthew the third great
discourse begins, the Discourse of the Parables. As we already
said before, in the commentary on the Gospel of July 9th, Matthew organized his
Gospel like a new edition of the Law of God or like a new “Pentateuch” with its
five books. For this reason his Gospel is composed of five great discourses or
teachings of Jesus, followed by narrative parts, in which he describes how
Jesus put into practice what He had taught in the discourses. The following is
the outline:
Introduction: birth and preparation of the Messiah (Mt 1 to 4)
a) Sermon on the Mount: the entrance door to the Kingdom (Mt 5 to 7)
Narrative Mt 8 and 9
b) Discourse on the Mission: how to announce and spread the Kingdom (Mt 10)
Narrative Mt 11 and 12
c) Discourse of the Parables: the mystery of the Kingdom present in life (Mt 13)
Narrative Mt 14 to 17
d) Discourse on the Community: the new way of living together in the Kingdom (Mt 18)
Narrative 19 to 23
e) Discourse on the future coming of the Kingdom: the utopia which sustains hope (Mt 24 and 25)
Conclusion: Passion, Death and Resurrection (Mt 26 to 28).
• In today’s Gospel we will meditate on the parable of the seed. Jesus had a way of speaking by means of comparisons and parables. Generally, when He finished telling a parable, He did not explain it, but used to say, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Mt 11:15; 13:9,43). Sometimes He would explain the meaning to the disciples (Mt 13:36). The parables speak of the things of life; seed, lamp, mustard seed, salt, etc. These are things that exist in daily life, for the people of that time as well as today for us. Thus, the experience that we have today of these things becomes for us a means to discover the presence of the mystery of God in our life. To speak in parables means to reveal the mystery of the Kingdom present in life.
• Matthew 13:1-3: Sitting in the boat, Jesus taught the people. As it happened in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:1-2), here also, Matthew makes a brief introduction to The Discourse of the Parables, describing Jesus who teaches in the boat, on the shore, and the many people around Him who listen. Jesus was not a person who was instructed (Jn 7:15). He had not been to a higher school in Jerusalem. He came from inside the country, from Nazareth. He was unknown, a craftsman or artisan. Without asking permission from the religious authority, He began to teach the people. People liked to listen to Him. Jesus taught especially by means of parables. We have already heard some of them: fishers of men (Mt 4:19), the salt (Mt 5:13), the lamp (Mt 5:15), the birds of the sky and the lilies of the field (Mt 6:26.28), the house constructed on the rock (Mt 7:24), and now, in chapter 13, the parables begin to have a particular meaning: they serve to reveal the mystery of the Kingdom of God present in the midst of people and the activity of Jesus.
• Matthew 13:4-8: The parable of the seed taken from the life of the farmer. At that time, it was not easy to live from farming. The land was full of stones. There was little rain and too much sun. Many times, in order to shortcut the way, people passed through the fields and destroyed the plants (Mt 12:1). In spite of all that, every year, the farmer would sow and plant, with trust in the force of the seed, in the generosity of nature. The parable of the sower describes that which we all know and do: the seed thrown by the planter falls on the ground along the road, another part falls among the stones and thistles; still another part falls on good earth, where, according to the quality of the land, will produce thirty, sixty and even up to one hundredfold. A parable is a comparison. It uses things known by the people and which are visible to explain that the Kingdom of God is an invisible and unknown thing. The people of Galilee understood about seeds, ground, rain, sun and harvest. So now Jesus uses exactly these things that were known to people to explain the mystery of the Kingdom.
• Matthew 13:9: He who has ears to hear, let him listen. The expression “He who has ears, let him listen” means: “It is this! You have heard. Now try to understand!” The way to be able to understand the parable is to search: “To try to understand!” The parable does not give everything immediately, but pushes one to think and to make one discover, starting from the experience which the listeners have of the seed. It appeals to creativity and to participation. It is not a doctrine which comes ready to be taught. The parable does not give water in bottles, but the source. The farmer who listens to the parable says, “Seed in the ground, I know what that means! But Jesus says that it has something to do with the Kingdom of God. What would that be?” And it is easy to imagine the long conversations of the people! The parable leads us to listen to nature and to think of life. Once a person asked in a community, “Jesus says that we have to be salt. What is salt good for?” There was discussion, and then at the end, ten different purposes that salt can have, were discovered. Then all this was applied to the life of the community and it was discovered that to be salt is difficult and demanding. The parable worked well!
Introduction: birth and preparation of the Messiah (Mt 1 to 4)
a) Sermon on the Mount: the entrance door to the Kingdom (Mt 5 to 7)
Narrative Mt 8 and 9
b) Discourse on the Mission: how to announce and spread the Kingdom (Mt 10)
Narrative Mt 11 and 12
c) Discourse of the Parables: the mystery of the Kingdom present in life (Mt 13)
Narrative Mt 14 to 17
d) Discourse on the Community: the new way of living together in the Kingdom (Mt 18)
Narrative 19 to 23
e) Discourse on the future coming of the Kingdom: the utopia which sustains hope (Mt 24 and 25)
Conclusion: Passion, Death and Resurrection (Mt 26 to 28).
• In today’s Gospel we will meditate on the parable of the seed. Jesus had a way of speaking by means of comparisons and parables. Generally, when He finished telling a parable, He did not explain it, but used to say, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Mt 11:15; 13:9,43). Sometimes He would explain the meaning to the disciples (Mt 13:36). The parables speak of the things of life; seed, lamp, mustard seed, salt, etc. These are things that exist in daily life, for the people of that time as well as today for us. Thus, the experience that we have today of these things becomes for us a means to discover the presence of the mystery of God in our life. To speak in parables means to reveal the mystery of the Kingdom present in life.
• Matthew 13:1-3: Sitting in the boat, Jesus taught the people. As it happened in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt 5:1-2), here also, Matthew makes a brief introduction to The Discourse of the Parables, describing Jesus who teaches in the boat, on the shore, and the many people around Him who listen. Jesus was not a person who was instructed (Jn 7:15). He had not been to a higher school in Jerusalem. He came from inside the country, from Nazareth. He was unknown, a craftsman or artisan. Without asking permission from the religious authority, He began to teach the people. People liked to listen to Him. Jesus taught especially by means of parables. We have already heard some of them: fishers of men (Mt 4:19), the salt (Mt 5:13), the lamp (Mt 5:15), the birds of the sky and the lilies of the field (Mt 6:26.28), the house constructed on the rock (Mt 7:24), and now, in chapter 13, the parables begin to have a particular meaning: they serve to reveal the mystery of the Kingdom of God present in the midst of people and the activity of Jesus.
• Matthew 13:4-8: The parable of the seed taken from the life of the farmer. At that time, it was not easy to live from farming. The land was full of stones. There was little rain and too much sun. Many times, in order to shortcut the way, people passed through the fields and destroyed the plants (Mt 12:1). In spite of all that, every year, the farmer would sow and plant, with trust in the force of the seed, in the generosity of nature. The parable of the sower describes that which we all know and do: the seed thrown by the planter falls on the ground along the road, another part falls among the stones and thistles; still another part falls on good earth, where, according to the quality of the land, will produce thirty, sixty and even up to one hundredfold. A parable is a comparison. It uses things known by the people and which are visible to explain that the Kingdom of God is an invisible and unknown thing. The people of Galilee understood about seeds, ground, rain, sun and harvest. So now Jesus uses exactly these things that were known to people to explain the mystery of the Kingdom.
• Matthew 13:9: He who has ears to hear, let him listen. The expression “He who has ears, let him listen” means: “It is this! You have heard. Now try to understand!” The way to be able to understand the parable is to search: “To try to understand!” The parable does not give everything immediately, but pushes one to think and to make one discover, starting from the experience which the listeners have of the seed. It appeals to creativity and to participation. It is not a doctrine which comes ready to be taught. The parable does not give water in bottles, but the source. The farmer who listens to the parable says, “Seed in the ground, I know what that means! But Jesus says that it has something to do with the Kingdom of God. What would that be?” And it is easy to imagine the long conversations of the people! The parable leads us to listen to nature and to think of life. Once a person asked in a community, “Jesus says that we have to be salt. What is salt good for?” There was discussion, and then at the end, ten different purposes that salt can have, were discovered. Then all this was applied to the life of the community and it was discovered that to be salt is difficult and demanding. The parable worked well!
4) Personal questions
• When you were a child how was catechism taught to you? How do
you compare it to some parts of your life? Do you remember some important
comparison that the catechist told you? How is the catechesis today in your
community?
• Sometimes we are the road side, sometimes the rock; other times the thorns or thistles, and other times good earth. What am I? What are we in our community? Which are the fruits which the Word of God is producing in my life, in my family, and in our community: thirty, sixty, one hundredfold?
• Sometimes we are the road side, sometimes the rock; other times the thorns or thistles, and other times good earth. What am I? What are we in our community? Which are the fruits which the Word of God is producing in my life, in my family, and in our community: thirty, sixty, one hundredfold?
5) Concluding Prayer
Yahweh in His holy temple!
Yahweh, His throne is in heaven;
His eyes watch over the world,
His gaze scrutinizes the children of Adam. (Ps 11:4)
Yahweh, His throne is in heaven;
His eyes watch over the world,
His gaze scrutinizes the children of Adam. (Ps 11:4)
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