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“Of its own accord the land yields fruit.” | Memorial of Saint John Bosco, Priest

San Giovanni Bosco - A black and white photo of a man wearing a hat

From the responsorial psalm: “Trust in the LORD and do good, that you may dwell in the land and be fed in security. Take delight in the LORD, and he will grant you your heart’s requests. The salvation of the just comes from the Lord.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (today’s readings)

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.”

Of its own accord, the seed of the kingdom of God sprouts and grows and ripens for the harvest. Jesus speaks in parables to the crowds so that they receive and let take root the word of God as children receive the love and guidance of parents. “With many such parables,” Mark tells us, “he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.” Jesus’ revelation of the kingdom is more than the sharing of factual information; it is an invitation to participate in its wonder and mystery. In receiving the word, as Saint Paul puts it, we are “among those who have faith and will possess life” as the smallest of seeds grow to the fullness of grain that is harvested and gathered.

God, your kingdom is here and now and yet to be. In it, “we live and move and have our being.” Help me today to hold on to a childlike sense of faith and wonder at your presence in the world and in the events of the day that are close to home as they unfold. The Gospel acclamation reminds me that “you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.” Let me turn my attention less to the things that I can make grow and thrive and more to your eternal will being done as things take place seemingly of their own accord. Lord, let me take refuge in you; sustain and save me. Saint John Bosco, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“The seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how.” | Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time

From the responsorial psalm: “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. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (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.”

In the Gospel, Jesus echoes the words of the LORD as spoken in the first reading from Ezekiel. “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.” So it is with the kingdom of God. The little effort we put forth in bringing about his kingdom is supernaturally fortified and imbued by God himself with love of his people, love that in turn goes out horizontally and veristically for the sake of his glory. God’s kingdom is by its authentic definition, bringing low what is high and lifting up what is low. “And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD . . . , make the withered tree bloom.”

God, help me pause throughout the day and hear the words of Jesus as he describes the mystery of your kingdom. Everywhere outside, I see the wild growth of plants under the summer sun and rain. Tomato plants that were no bigger than my hand now stand at waist level. The tiny seeds I planted just weeks ago now have taken root and begin to blossom. As I hold fast to you, Lord, seeking you in the Church and its sacraments, help me remember to be thankful for all your gifts and faithfulness and to witness to it. Glory to you, Lord. As the psalmist prays: “They that are planted in the house of the LORD shall flourish in the courts of our God. Lord, it is good to give thanks to you.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“The seed would sprout and grow.” | Memorial of Saints Timothy and Titus, bishops

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A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 4:26-34)

“With many such parables,” Mark tells us, Jesus “spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.” Jesus speaks to the crowd in parables to fix in the mind of the hearers images of the Kingdom of God. One can only imagine with what stuff Jesus might have rendered parables if he walked the earth today. Yet, his parables are grounded in universal human experiences: sleeping and rising; planting and harvesting; and growth and maturity. Perhaps inviting us to come up with our own parables, Jesus says, “To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it?” The wonder behind all of the parables is suggested in the man who rises from sleep and sees the seeds he planted sprout and grow. “Of its own accord the land yields fruit.” The Creator never ceases nurturing his kingdom.

God, help me understand the teachings of Jesus in the parables. The smallest of seeds grows to become the largest of plants, its branches providing shade and respite. So it is with your word. With the seeds of faith, let me entrust to your care the soil they are planted in. Stir up in me, Lord, a sense of wonder at your work in the world, the gift of your love that brings life to all and sustains it, and the hope of eternal life in your kingdom. Taking root in me, let that be a witness to the people I encounter today. I can’t pretend to understand the fulness of the Gospel, its life and light; help me understand your word. As the psalmist says, “Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.”

From the Gospel acclamation: “Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.” Saints Timothy and Titus, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

“What is the Kingdom of God like?” | Tuesday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time

From the Gospel acclamation: “Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth; you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.” Lord, thank you for your kingdom; in it, let me grow more and more in love of its mysteries.

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 13:18-21)

Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus makes comparisons to the Kingdom of God in two parables. The tiny mustard seed, no larger than the largest grain of sand, grows large enough for birds to make nests in its branches. Jesus goes on to compare the Kingdom of God to yeast mixed into wheat flour, which leavens a large batch of dough. To whatever degree the Kingdom of God is present now, much more is to come in its fulfillment. As Saint Paul says in the first reading: “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us. For creation awaits with eager expectation the revelation of the children of God.”

Father in heaven, help me see your kingdom in the present but also wait for what is to come with eager expectation. The best days experienced on this earth still contain suffering. Yet, the smallest seeds of hope in your kingdom—already here and still to come—sustain me as I wait for what Saint Paul calls “the glory to be revealed for us.” Strengthen me today, Lord, with childlike hope. In the words of the psalmist: “Although they go forth weeping, carrying the seed to be sown, They shall come back rejoicing, carrying their sheaves. The Lord has done marvels for us.” Give me the grace to wait with endurance for what I cannot yet see.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:31-35)

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.

Matthew relates the parables Jesus proposed to the crowds about the kingdom of heaven. It is like a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds but as a full-grown plant becomes large enough for birds to dwell in its branches. In another parable, he describes it as yeast mixed into three measures of wheat flour, leavening the whole batch. In each distinct parable, the mustard seed in its fullness and the yeast spread throughout the batch of dough become a means of sustaining life. The branches of the mustard plant become a place where birds dwell, where the spirit resides. The yeast becomes one with the batch of dough, transforming it and providing sustenance.

God, help me understand these parables and how they apply to this day. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, seemingly small but producing profound impact and providing a spiritual dwelling. Give me the grace today to allow you to permeate my entire being and transform it. Let me find shelter in your care, and make me into a new person through communion with Christ and in his indwelling through the Holy Spirit. Nourish and sustain me, Lord; strengthen me with your presence.

From the responsorial psalm, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.” Saint Ignatius of Loyola, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:24-43)

Jesus said to his disciples: “Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus teaches important truths about the kingdom of heaven through his parables as he recognizes the coexistence of good and evil in the world. In the reality of the fallen world we live in, it is striking how Jesus depicts those who cause others to sin and their final judgment. Elsewhere in the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus says: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” These little ones— ones who are innocent or poor in spirit or waiting for the Lord’s mercy with contrite hearts—have understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom and are precious in his eyes.

God, thank you for your patience and mercy. Just as the owner of the field allows the wheat and the weeds to grow together until the harvest, you give me an opportunity to repent and turn to you time and time again through my contrition and the sacrament of reconciliation. That you allow the evil one to sow weeds and yet bring good out of it is a mystery. Almighty Father, although evil is contrary to your being and you do not eliminate it, you allow me to make a choice to return to you to receive your grace and repentance. And you do this for all who turn to you.

Lord, intercede for me today when my spirit is weak and I forget you. As Saint Paul says, “And the one who searches hearts knows what is the intention of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the holy ones according to God’s will.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Friday of the Third Week of Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark

The Gospel from today follows directly after where yesterday’s left off. Jesus goes on to tell two other parables about the Kingdom of God: one relates to the growth of seed planted in the ground; the other, to the smallest of seeds that becomes the largest of plants, the mustard seed. In both parables, the growth of the Kingdom of God benefits the one who spreads the seed. The growth of the seed, the kingdom, is a mystery to the sower. In either parable, the sower plants but God nurtures the growth to maturity.

God, help me understand as I am able to understand the mystery described in these parables. Saint Paul in the first reading encourages us to seek the Kingdom of God by doing his will: “You need endurance to do the will of God and receive what he has promised.” The result of that endurance, he says, is that “We are not among those who draw back and perish, but among those who have faith and will possess life.” Lord, let the little I do today in scattering seed be an act of delight and complete trust in you to bring into this reality the mysteries of the Kingdom. “Commit to the LORD your way,” the Responsorial Psalm says, “trust in him, and he will act.”

God, your Kingdom is to come and is here at this moment. I know you delight in me as I strive to grow closer to you. Let me know the joy today of active participation in your kingdom as I see it sprouting and growing of its own accord.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

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