Tag: Ten Commandments

“You have set aside the commandment of God.” | Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 7:1-13)

“You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.” He went on to say, “How well you have set aside the commandment of God in order to uphold your tradition! For Moses said, Honor your father and your mother, and whoever curses father or mother shall die. Yet you say, ‘If someone says to father or mother, ‘Any support you might have had from me is qorban’ (meaning, dedicated to God), you allow him to do nothing more for his father or mother.”

The Pharisees criticize some of the disciples as they eat with unwashed hands. Jesus responds to their criticism, confronting their adherence to human traditions over God’s commandments. Jesus quotes Isaiah, saying, “This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; In vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines human precepts.” Jesus calls out the Pharisees for dedicating their possessions to the temple instead of honoring their parents, demonstrating that they follow human traditions over God’s commandments. “You nullify the word of God,” Jesus tells them. “And you do many such things.”

God, help me understand that in confronting the Pharisees, Jesus provides a model for how to prioritize your commandments over human tradition, a good in itself that has an appropriate place. “You disregard God’s commandment,” Jesus says, “but cling to human tradition.” Give me sincerity of heart and the grace to put into practice the Ten Commandments and your Son’s two great commandments: to love you, God, with all one’s heart, soul, and mind, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself.

From the responsorial psalm: “My soul yearns and pines for the courts of the LORD. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord, mighty God!” Saint Paul Miki and companions, 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.

Friday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:18-23)

Jesus said to his disciples: “The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

In today’s Gospel, Jesus explains to his disciples the meaning of the Parable of the Sower. Seed sown on the path the Evil One steals. Seed sown on rocky ground gives joy but has no root and withers. Seed sown among thorns is choked by worldly anxiety and the lure of riches. But seed sown on rich soil takes root and bears abundant fruit. Anyone who is even the least receptive to the word of God has experienced at some point what Jesus describes in the parable. Yet, God leaves the decision to receive his word entirely up to each of us.

God, you invite me to soften the soil of my heart for you, but you don’t force; you merely invite. How I respond because you give me the gift of free will is my choice. How often does the well-trodden, rocky, or thorny ground prevent me from hearing and understanding your word? I think about worldly anxiety and the lure of riches. Daily it pricks me and chokes my ability to respond and learn to love you. After the Our Father during Mass, the priest says something I want to remember today, a remedy to treat the rocky ground and thorny path: “Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil, graciously grant peace in our days, that, by the help of Your mercy, we may be always free from sin and safe from all distress, as we await the blessed hope and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.” 

God, help me soften my heart today to receive and understand your word. From the Gospel acclamation: “Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.”

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.