Contemplating today's Gospel
Today's Gospel + homily (in 300 words)
So, too, it is written, «The first man, Adam, became a living being», the last Adam a life-giving spirit. But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.
I am bound, o God, by vows to you; your thank offerings I will fulfill. For you have rescued me from death, my feet, too, from stumbling; ºthat I may walk before God in the light of the living.
Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.
“This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”
“The seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who bear fruit through perseverance”
Fr. Lluís RAVENTÓS i Artés (Tarragona, Spain)Today, Jesus tells us about the sower —“a sower went out to sow his seed“ (Lk 8:5) and that seed was nothing else but the “the Word of God.” But “the thorns grew with it and choked it” (Lk 8:7).
Thorns, we have many. “As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit.” (Lk 8:14).
—My Lord, Am I to blame for having worries? I wish I would not have any, but they keep coming to me from everywhere! I do not see why they should deprive me from your Word, if they are not sin, vice or defect.
—Because you forget that I am your Father and you are being enslaved by a tomorrow you do not even know whether you will ever reach!
St. Josemaria tells us: “If only we could live with more trust in divine Providence, strong in faith, in the certainty of God's daily protection which never fails, how many worries and anxieties we would be spared! Then that fretfulness which, as Jesus said, is typical of pagans, of 'the heathen world', that is, of people who lack a supernatural outlook on life, would disappear… I would like to engrave upon your minds the conviction that since 'your Father well knows what you need', we have every reason to be optimistic on our journey through this life, with our souls completely detached from those earthly things that seem so very necessary. God will provide.”
David said: “Cast your care upon the LORD, who will give you support” (Ps 55:23). This is what Saint Joseph did when the Lord tested him: he pondered, he consulted, he prayed, he resolved and left everything in the hands of God. When the Angel arrived, he did not dare to wake him up and spoke to him in his dreams.
“I should have no other concern than your Glory… in other words, your Love.” (Saint Josemaria).
Thoughts on Today's Gospel
“For when the divine word is poured into a soul free from all anxieties, then it strikes root deep, and sends forth as it were the ear, and in its due season comes to perfection.” (Saint Cyril Of Alexandria).
“The Gospel seed makes fertile the history of mankind and promises a rich harvest. Jesus also cautions, however, that the word of God grows only in a well disposed heart.” (Saint John Paul II)
"The invocation of the holy name of Jesus is the simplest way of praying always. When the holy name is repeated often by a humbly attentive heart, the prayer is not lost by heaping up empty phrases, but holds fast to the word and "brings forth fruit with patience..." (Catechism Of The Catholic Church, Nº 2668)
