The Parable of the Sower

JANUARY 24, 2024 - WEDNESDAY
Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church (White)
Lectionary: 319
CYCLE B - YEAR II

Reading 1
2 Sm 7:4-17

That night the LORD spoke to Nathan and said:
"Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the LORD:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?
I have not dwelt in a house
from the day on which I led the children of Israel
out of Egypt to the present,
but I have been going about in a tent under cloth.
In all my wanderings everywhere among the children of Israel,
did I ever utter a word to any one of the judges
whom I charged to tend my people Israel, to ask:
Why have you not built me a house of cedar?'
"Now then, speak thus to my servant David,
'The LORD of hosts has this to say:
It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The LORD also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his Kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
And if he does wrong,
I will correct him with the rod of men
and with human chastisements;
but I will not withdraw my favor from him
as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul,
whom I removed from my presence.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.'"
Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.

Responsorial Psalm
PS 89:4-5, 27-28, 29-30

R. (29a) For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.

“I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will make your dynasty stand forever
and establish your throne through all ages.”

R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.

“He shall cry to me, ‘You are my father,
my God, the Rock that brings me victory!’
I myself make him firstborn,
Most High over the kings of the earth.”

R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.

“Forever I will maintain my love for him;
my covenant with him stands firm.
I will establish his dynasty forever,
his throne as the days of the heavens.”

R. For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.

Alleluia

R.  Alleluia, alleluia.

The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live forever.

R.  Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel
Mk 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables,
and in the course of his instruction he said to them,
"Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed 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
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
He added, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."
And when he was alone,
those present along with the Twelve
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them,
"The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that
they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven."
Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

REFLECTION:

I imagine my situation as the landscape about which Jesus speaks: where does it seem barren, what are the fertile places? I invite Jesus to broadcast his words of life where I am.

PRAYER:

The sower knows that not all seed will flourish. I pray for forgiveness and healing for the rocky, bare places I observe in my life. I pray that I may not neglect where there is growth but that I may grow in gratitude and in hope.

Parable Of The Sower

JULY 20, 2022, WEDNESDAY

Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)

Optional Memorial of Saint Apollinaris, Bishop and Martyr (Red)

CYCLE C - YEAR II

Lectionary: 397

Reading 1

Jer 1:1, 4-10

The words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah,

of a priestly family in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin.

The word of the LORD came to me thus:

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

before you were born I dedicated you,

a prophet to the nations I appointed you.

“Ah, Lord GOD!” I said,

"I know not how to speak; I am too young.”

But the LORD answered me,

Say not, “I am too young.”

To whomever I send you, you shall go;

whatever I command you, you shall speak.

Have no fear before them,

because I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.

Then the LORD extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying,

See, I place my words in your mouth!

This day I set you

over nations and over kingdoms,

To root up and to tear down,

to destroy and to demolish,

to build and to plant.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15 and 17

R. (see 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.

In you, O LORD, I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame.

In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;

incline your ear to me, and save me.

R. I will sing of your salvation.

Be my rock of refuge,

a stronghold to give me safety,

for you are my rock and my fortress.

O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.

R. I will sing of your salvation.

For you are my hope, O Lord;

my trust, O God, from my youth.

On you I depend from birth;

from my mother’s womb you are my strength.

R. I will sing of your salvation.

My mouth shall declare your justice,

day by day your salvation.

O God, you have taught me from my youth,

and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.

R. I will sing of your salvation.

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.

Gospel

Mt 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."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

Jesus’ parables can heal us to hear and understand how things stand between God and ourselves. They are nuggets of grace that test our heart’s willingness to surrender to the generosity of God.

'Let anyone with ears listen'. This means me! When I come to pray, do I have the soil of an open heart toward Jesus and his teachings? Am I willing to allow his Word to break into my closed heart?

PRAYER:

If I am a normal person, my heart contains all four sorts of ground, being more or less open to the Gospel message. I ask for light to see where the hardness and the insecurity lie, and ask the Sower that my life may bear abundant fruit.

The Parable of the Sower

JANUARY 26, 2022, WEDNESDAY
MEMORIAL OF SAINTS TIMOTHY AND TITUS, BISHOPS (White)
CYCLE C - YEAR II
Lectionary: 520/319

Reading I

2 Tm 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:

Ti 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

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

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.

Gospel
Mk 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.

A very large crowd gathered around him 

so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.

And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.

And he taught them at length in parables, 

and in the course of his instruction he said to them, 

“Hear this! A sower went out to sow.

And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, 

and the birds came and ate it up.

Other seed 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 

and it produced no grain.

And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.

It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

And when he was alone, 

those present along with the Twelve 

questioned him about the parables.

He answered them, 

“The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.

But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that

            they may look and see but not perceive,

                        and hear and listen but not understand,

                        in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable?

Then how will you understand any of the parables?

The sower sows the word.

These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.

As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once 

and takes away the word sown in them.

And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, 

when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.

But they have no roots; they last only for a time.

Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, 

they quickly fall away.

Those sown among thorns are another sort.

They are the people who hear the word, 

but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, 

and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, 

and it bears no fruit.

But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it

and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

I imagine my situation as the landscape about which Jesus speaks: where does it seem barren, what are the fertile places? I invite Jesus to broadcast his words of life where I am.

PRAYER:

The sower knows that not all seed will flourish. I pray for forgiveness and healing for the rocky, bare places I observe in my life. I pray that I may not neglect where there is growth but that I may grow in gratitude and in hope.

Parable Of The Sower

July 21, 2021, Wednesday
Wednesday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time (Green)
(Opt. Mem.) Saint Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church (White)
CYCLE B - YEAR I
Lectionary: 397

Reading I
Ex 16:1-5, 9-15

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.”

Responsorial Psalm
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.

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.

GOSPEL
Mt 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.”

REFLECTION:

Jesus’ parables can heal us to hear and understand how things stand between God and ourselves. They are nuggets of grace that test our heart’s willingness to surrender to the generosity of God.

'Let anyone with ears listen'. This means me! When I come to pray, do I have the soil of an open heart toward Jesus and his teachings? Am I willing to allow his Word to break into my closed heart?

PRAYER:

If I am a normal person, my heart contains all four sorts of ground, being more or less open to the Gospel message. I ask for light to see where the hardness and the insecurity lie and ask the Sower that my life may bear abundant fruit.

Parable of the Sower

January 27, 2021, Wednesday

Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time (Green)

Saint Angela Merici, Virgin - Opt. Mem. (White)

CYCLE B - YEAR I

RDGS: HEB 10:11-18/ PS 110:1. 2. 3. 4

GOSPEL: MK 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.

A very large crowd gathered around him 

so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.

And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.

And he taught them at length in parables, 

and in the course of his instruction he said to them, 

"Hear this!  A sower went out to sow.

And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, 

and the birds came and ate it up.

Other seed 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 

and it produced no grain.

And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.

It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

He added, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."

And when he was alone, 

those present along with the Twelve 

questioned him about the parables.

He answered them, 

"The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.

But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that

they may look and see but not perceive,

and hear and listen but not understand,

in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven."

Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?

Then how will you understand any of the parables?

The sower sows the word.

These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.

As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once 

and takes away the word sown in them.

And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, 

when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.

But they have no roots; they last only for a time.

Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, 

they quickly fall away.

Those sown among thorns are another sort.

They are the people who hear the word, 

but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, 

and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, 

and it bears no fruit.

But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it

and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

GOSPEL REFLECTION:

The human heart is like a field that can, at different times, be open or closed. The word of God comes to us as we are, with our faults and failings, our gifts and talents. We bear fruit each in our own way at our own time. 

Sometimes the fruit is big - a hundredfold, other times less so. In prayer we offer our hearts to God and, with God's help, bear whatever fruit we can just at the moment. It is God's word that is sown in us and, even in strange ways, it is God who gives the increase.

PRAYER:

If your word is like a seed, Lord, then it is an organism, with a life of its own. My part is to receive it, give it roots and depth so that it survives hardships; and protect it from the thorns of multiple cares and desires. If I allow your word some space in my life, there is no limit to the fruit it may bear.