Lectionary: 520/321
Reading 1
2 Timothy 1:1-8
Paul, an Apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God
for the promise of life in Christ Jesus,
to Timothy, my dear child:
grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father
and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I am grateful to God,
whom I worship with a clear conscience as my ancestors did,
as I remember you constantly in my prayers, night and day.
I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears,
so that I may be filled with joy,
as I recall your sincere faith
that first lived in your grandmother Lois
and in your mother Eunice
and that I am confident lives also in you.
For this reason, I remind you to stir into flame
the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands.
For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice
but rather of power and love and self-control.
So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord,
nor of me, a prisoner for his sake;
but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel
with the strength that comes from God.
or
Titus 1:1-5
Paul, a slave of God and Apostle of Jesus Christ
for the sake of the faith of God's chosen ones
and the recognition of religious truth,
in the hope of eternal life
that God, who does not lie, promised before time began,
who indeed at the proper time revealed his word
in the proclamation with which I was entrusted
by the command of God our savior,
to Titus, my true child in our common faith:
grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our savior.
For this reason I left you in Crete
so that you might set right what remains to be done
and appoint presbyters in every town, as I directed you.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 96:1-2a, 2b-3, 7-8a, 10
R. (3) Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all you lands.
Sing to the LORD; bless his name.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Announce his salvation, day after day.
Tell his glory among the nations;
among all peoples, his wondrous deeds.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Give to the LORD, you families of nations,
give to the LORD glory and praise;
give to the LORD the glory due his name!
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Say among the nations: The LORD is king.
He has made the world firm, not to be moved;
he governs the peoples with equity.
R. Proclaim God’s marvelous deeds to all the nations.
Alleluia
See Matthew 11:25
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth;
you have revealed to little ones the mysteries of the Kingdom.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Mark 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 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.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
Transformation in God’s Grace
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. Mark 4:26–27
It’s beautiful to reflect upon how the Word of God changes people’s lives. This short passage above analogizes the sharing of the Word of God with the planting of seed. The sower goes forth and scatters seed into the ground and then observes how that seed grows into a fruitful plant. The mysterious line states “he knows not how.”
So it is with the Word of God. When that Word is received by another, we are blessed to be able to stand back and watch as that Word takes root and transforms their lives. Of course, at times we may sow the Word and it doesn’t take root. This is on account of either the hardness of another’s heart or on account of the way in which we sow. But when the seed of God’s Word does take root, we should be in awe of how God works in that soul.
Think about this reality in your own life. How did you first receive the good seed of God’s word? Perhaps it was through a sermon, a retreat, the reading of Scripture, a book or the witness of another. Think about how you first received God’s Word into your life and what effect it had upon you.
Once God’s Word has taken root in a soul, it is a holy practice to “rise night and day” so as to observe this seed as it grows. Specifically, we must allow ourselves to be amazed at the mysterious way that a life is changed, be it your own life or the life of another. It’s inspiring to observe the soul of a person as it begins to root out sin, to seek virtue, to establish a life of prayer and to grow in the love of God.
If this is something to which you find it hard to relate, then perhaps it’s time to either allow that seed of God’s Word to fall gently and deeply into the fertile ground of your own soul or to prayerfully look for ways in which God wants to use you to sow that seed into the heart of another. Doing the latter takes much openness to the working of the Holy Spirit. It requires that we allow God to inspire us so as to know how we can cooperate with His hand in evangelization.
Reflect, today, upon the “mystery” of a soul who goes through this process of change and spiritual growth. If you find it difficult to find such an example to ponder, then turn to the lives of the saints. The saints are among the greatest witnesses of those who allowed God’s Word to sink deeply into their lives so that they became new creations, transformed by God’s grace. Ponder this transforming witness and allow yourself to be drawn into gratitude and amazement as you do.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
BELIEVING IS SEEING
“Promote their knowledge of the truth as our religion embodies it.” —Titus 1:1
No matter how well or poorly I teach the Scriptures through this booklet, you can almost immediately at least double the insights you receive from reading the Scriptures for the daily Mass by deciding to share anything you receive. If you put any light you receive on the lampstand (Mk 4:21), you will receive more light. “In the measure you give you shall receive, and more besides” (Mk 4:24). Understanding the Bible is not so much a matter of intelligence, but of sharing.
To share the Good News credibly though, we must live the Good News. Understanding the Bible is basically a matter of obeying it. Some people maintain they need to understand something before obeying it. With the Bible, however, we must obey it before we ever truly and deeply understand it. For example, we don’t understand how Jesus is present in Holy Communion merely because we have read the Bible. The Bible doesn’t explain this in detail. However, when we obey the Bible by participating in the Last Supper in memory of Jesus (1 Cor 11:24-25), devoting ourselves “to the breaking of bread” (Acts 2:42), and sharing our faith in Jesus present in the Eucharist, then we receive amazing insights. We see the light and understand what the Bible means. Believing, living, and sharing is seeing.
Prayer: Father, give me a deep faith in You by which I can understand You much more profoundly.
Promise: “I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God bestowed when my hands were laid on you. The Spirit God has given us is no cowardly Spirit, but rather One that makes us strong, loving, and wise.” —2 Tm 1:6-7
Praise: “Thanks be to God, Who has put an equal zeal for you in the heart of Titus!” (2 Cor 8:16)
Reflection 3
By Fr. Jordi PASCUAL i Bancells
(Salt, Girona, Spain)
“This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land… and the seed would sprout and grow”
Today, Jesus is telling people about an experience very close to His life: “a man were to scatter seed on the land…, the seed would sprout and grow… Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear” (Mk 4:26-28). With these words Jesus is speaking of the kingdom of God, consisting “of sanctity and grace, Truth and Life, justice, love and peace” (Preface of the Solemnity of our Lord Christ the King), that He is bringing us. We must make this kingdom real. First within each one of us; afterwards for our entire world.
In every Christian's soul, Jesus Christ has sown —by virtue of the Baptism— the grace, the sanctity, the Truth... It is necessary that these seeds sprout, grow and bear a multitude of good fruits, our deeds: deeds of service and charity, of kindness and generosity, of sacrifice to properly comply with our daily duty and to make those around us happy; deeds of constant prayer, of forgiveness and understanding, of effort to grow in virtue, of joy...
Thus, this Kingdom of God —that begins within each one of us— will extend to our family, to our people, to our society, to our world. Because, he who lives like that, “what does he do but prepare the path of God…, so that the strength of grace fills him and the light of truth lights him up; so that his ways to God are always straight?” (Saint Gregory the Great).
The seed begins very small, “It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” (Mk 4:31-32). But the force of God's will scatters it all over and makes it grow up with a surprising vigor. Jesus asks us today —as in the beginning of Christianity— to spread His kingdom throughout the entire world.
Prayers
My transforming Lord, I thank You for the way that You have sown the seed of Your holy Word into my own life. I thank You for the way in which You have changed me, freed me from sin and set me on the path to holiness. Use me, dear Lord, to sow that seed in the lives of others and fill me with wonder and awe as I witness Your merciful hand at work. Jesus, I trust in You.
Lord Jesus, fill me with your Holy Spirit and transform me into the Christ-like holiness you desire. Increase my zeal for your kingdom and instill in me a holy desire to live for your greater glory.
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 26: Uniting Your Interior Cross With Christ
As you grow closer to God you will, at times, feel many things. Some will encounter feelings of rejection by God. God never rejects us but the interior feelings of rejection can be real. This leads some to despair. If you find yourself, now or in the future, struggling with despair, do not be afraid and do not give in. Let God come to you in that experience and be present to you as you suffer through it (See Diary #23).
Continue to look deep within your heart this day. What do you see? If it is painful to look inside, then know that this pain is a pathway toward God. It may not make sense and it may be hard, but God the Father chose the path of the Cross for the Son. By embracing His Cross both exteriorly and interiorly, Jesus united all human nature to His Godhead. Let your suffering become a means of your holiness this day and a source of your unity with God.
Lord, as I continue to look deep within at my heart, help me to see myself as You see me. Help me to sort out any pain and suffering I carry. And help me to freely unite that interior pain to Your Cross just as You did. In this act, help me to discover The Divine Mercy You won for the world. Jesus, I trust in You.
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