Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 09-22-18

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 09-22-18 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

Our Blessed Lady's Sorrows

Sea of Sorrow

Oh! on what a sea of sorrow
Was the Virgin-Mother cast,
When her eyes with tears o'erflowing
Gazed upon her Son aghast,
From the bloodstained gibbet taken,
Dying in her arms at last.

In her bitter desolation,
His sweet mouth, His bosom too,
Then His riven side beloved,
Then each hand, both wounded through,
Then His feet, with blood encrimsoned,
Her maternal tears bedew.

She, a hundred times and over,
Strains Him closely to her breast
Heart to Heart, arms arms enfolding,
Are His wounds on her impressed:
Thus, in sorrow's very kisses,
Melts her anguished soul to rest.

Oh, dear Mother! we beseech thee,
By the tears thine eyes have shed,
By the cruel death of Jesus
And His wounds' right royal red,
Make our hearts o'erflow with sorrow
From thy heart's deep fountainhead.

To the Father, Son, and Spirit,
Now we bend on equal knee:
Glory, sempiternal glory,
To the Most High Trinity;
Yea! perpetual praise and honor
Now and through all ages be.

Novena Prayer To Our Sorrowful Mother

Most Blessed and afflicted Virgin, Queen of Martyrs, who didst stand generously beneath the cross, beholding the agony of thy dying Son; by the sword of sorrow which then pierced thy soul, by the sufferings of thy sorrowful life, by the unutterable joy which now more than repays thee for them; look down with a mother's pity and tenderness, as I kneel before thee to compassionate thy sorrows, and to lay my petition with childlike confidence in thy wounded heart. I beg of thee, O my Mother, to plead continually for me with thy Son, since He can refuse thee nothing, and through the merits of His most sacred Passion and Death, together with thy own sufferings at the foot of the cross, so to touch His Sacred Heart, that I may obtain my request,
For to whom shall I fly in my wants and miseries, if not to thee, O Mother of mercy, who, having so deeply drunk the chalice of thy Son, canst most pity us poor exiles, still doomed to sigh in this vale of tears? Offer to Jesus but one drop of His Precious Blood, but one pang of His adorable Heart; remind Him that thou art our life, our sweetness, and our hope, and thou wilt obtain what I ask, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Hail Mary
Virgin Most Sorrowful, pray for us
(Seven times each)

Mary, most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, accept the sincere homage of my filial affection. Into thy Heart, pierced by so many swords, do thou welcome my poor soul. Receive it as the companion of thy sorrows at the foot of the Cross, on which Jesus died for the redemption of the world. With thee, O sorrowful Virgin, I will gladly suffer all the trials, contradictions, and infirmities which it shall please Our Lord to send me. I offer them all to thee in memory of thy sorrows, so that: every thought of my mind and every beat of my heart may be an act of compassion and of love for thee. And do thou, sweet Mother, have pity on me, reconcile me to thy Divine Son, Jesus; keep me in His grace and assist me in my last agony, so that I may be able to meet thee in Heaven and sing thy glories.

Most holy Virgin and Mother, whose soul was pierced by a sword of sorrow in the Passion of thy Divine Son, and who in His glorious Resurrection wast filled with never ending joy at His triumph, obtain for us who call upon thee, so to be partakers in the adversities of Holy Church and the Sorrows of the Sovereign Pontiff, as to be found worthy to rejoice with them in the consolations for which we pray, in the charity and peace of the same Christ our Lord. Amen.

Litany of the Seven Sorrows

Litany of Seven Sorrows

Lord, have mercy on us.        Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us. God, the Father of heaven,  God the Son, Redeemer of the world, . God the Holy Ghost,  Holy Mary, Mother of God,  Holy Virgin of virgins,  Mother of the Crucified,  Sorrowful Mother,  Mournful Mother,  Sighing Mother,  Afflicted Mother,  Foresaken Mother, . Desolate Mother,  Mother most sad,  Mother set around with anguish,  Mother overwhelmed by grief,  Mother transfixed by a sword,  Mother crucified in thy heart,  Mother bereaved of thy Son,  Sighing Dove,  Mother of Dolors,  Fount of tears,  Sea of bitterness,  Field of tribulation,  Mass of suffering,  Mirror of patience,  Rock of constancy,  Remedy in perplexity,  Joy of the afflicted,  Ark of the desolate,  Refuge of the abandoned,. Shiled of the oppressed,  Conqueror of the incredulous,  Solace of the wretched,  Medicine of the sick,  Help of the faint,  Strength of the weak,  Protectress of those who fight,  Haven of the shipwrecked,  Calmer of tempests,  Companion of the sorrowful,  Retreat of those who groan,  Terror of the treacherous,  Standard-bearer of the Martyrs,  Treasure of the Faithful,  Light of Confessors,  Pearl of Virgins, . Comfort of Widows, . Joy of all Saints,  Queen of thy Servants, Holy Mary, who alone art unexampled, Pray for us, most Sorrowful Virgin,	Christ, have mercy on us. Christ, graciously hear us. Have mercy on us. Have mercy on us. Have mercy on us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us. pray for us That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let us pray, --- O God, in whose Passion, according to the prophecy of Simeon, a sword of grief pierced through the most sweet soul of Thy glorious Blessed Virgin Mother Mary: grant that we, who celebrate the memory of her Seven Sorrows, may obtain the happy effect of Thy Passion, Who lives and reigns world without end,  Amen.
The Seven Sorrows of Our Lady 1. The Prophecy of Simeon  2. The Flight into Egypt . 3. The Loss of Jesus in the Temple  4. Mary meets Jesus Carrying the Cross  5. The Crucifixion 6. Mary Receives the Dead Body of Her Son 7. The Burial of Her Son and Closing of the Tomb.
Consecration to Our Lady of Sorrows Most holy Virgin and Queen of Martyrs, Mary, would that I could be in Heaven, there to contemplate the honors rendered to thee by the Most Holy Trinity and by the whole Heavenly Court! But since I am still a pilgrim in this vale of tears, receive from me, thy unworthy servant and a poor sinner, the most sincere homage and the most perfect act of vassalage a human creature can offer thee.  In thy Immaculate Heart, pierced with so many swords of sorrow, I place today my poor soul forever; receive me as a partaker in thy dolors, and never suffer that I should depart from that Cross on which thy only begotten Son expired for me.  With thee, O Mary, I will endure all the sufferings, contradictions, infirmities, with which it will please thy Divine Son to visit me in this life. All of them I offer to thee, in memory of the Dolors which thou didst suffer during thy life, that every thought of my mind, every beating of my heart may henceforward be an act of compassion to thy Sorrows, and of complacency for the glory thou now enjoyest in Heaven.  Since then, O Dear Mother, I now compassionate thy Dolors, and rejoice in seeing thee glorified, do thou also have compassion on me, and reconcile me to thy Son Jesus, that I may become thy true and loyal son (daughter); come on my last day and assist me in my last agony, even as thou wert present at the Agony of thy Divine Son Jesus, that from this painful exile I may go to Heaven, there to be made partaker of thy glory. Amen.		Litany of Sorrows

Stabat Mater dolorosa
At the Cross Her Station Keeping

Stabat Mater Dolorosa is considered one of the seven greatest Latin hymns of all time. It is based upon the prophecy of Simeon that a sword was to pierce the heart of His mother, Mary (Lk 2:35). The hymn originated in the 13th century during the peak of Franciscan devotion to the crucified Jesus and has been attributed to Pope Innocent III (d. 1216), St. Bonaventure, or more commonly, Jacopone da Todi (1230-1306), who is considered by most to be the real author.

The hymn is often associated with the Stations of the Cross. In 1727 it was prescribed as a Sequence for the Mass of the Seven Sorrows of Mary (September 15) where it is still used today. In addition to this Mass, the hymn is also used for the Office of the Readings, Lauds, and Vespers for this memorial. There is a mirror image to this hymn, which echoes the joy of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the birth of Jesus.

STABAT Mater dolorosa iuxta Crucem lacrimosa, dum pendebat Filius.	AT, the Cross her station keeping, stood the mournful Mother weeping, close to Jesus to the last.
Cuius animam gementem, contristatam et dolentem pertransivit gladius.	Through her heart, His sorrow sharing, all His bitter anguish bearing, now at length the sword has passed.
O quam tristis et afflicta fuit illa benedicta, mater Unigeniti!	O how sad and sore distressed was that Mother, highly blest, of the sole-begotten One.
Quae maerebat et dolebat, pia Mater, dum videbat nati poenas inclyti.	Christ above in torment hangs, she beneath beholds the pangs of her dying glorious Son.
Quis est homo qui non fleret, matrem Christi si videret in tanto supplicio?	Is there one who would not weep, whelmed in miseries so deep, Christ's dear Mother to behold?
Quis non posset contristari Christi Matrem contemplari dolentem cum Filio?	Can the human heart refrain from partaking in her pain, in that Mother's pain untold?
Pro peccatis suae gentis vidit Iesum in tormentis, et flagellis subditum.	Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled, she beheld her tender Child All with bloody scourges rent:
Vidit suum dulcem Natum moriendo desolatum, dum emisit spiritum.	For the sins of His own nation, saw Him hang in desolation, Till His spirit forth He sent.
Eia, Mater, fons amoris me sentire vim doloris fac, ut tecum lugeam.	O thou Mother! fount of love! Touch my spirit from above, make my heart with thine accord:
Fac, ut ardeat cor meum in amando Christum Deum ut sibi complaceam.	Make me feel as thou hast felt; make my soul to glow and melt with the love of Christ my Lord.
Sancta Mater, istud agas, crucifixi fige plagas cordi meo valide.	Holy Mother! pierce me through, in my heart each wound renew of my Savior crucified:
Tui Nati vulnerati, tam dignati pro me pati, poenas mecum divide.	Let me share with thee His pain, who for all my sins was slain, who for me in torments died.
Fac me tecum pie flere, crucifixo condolere, donec ego vixero.	Let me mingle tears with thee, mourning Him who mourned for me, all the days that I may live:
Iuxta Crucem tecum stare, et me tibi sociare in planctu desidero.	By the Cross with thee to stay, there with thee to weep and pray, is all I ask of thee to give.
Virgo virginum praeclara, mihi iam non sis amara, fac me tecum plangere.	Virgin of all virgins blest!, Listen to my fond request: let me share thy grief divine;
Fac, ut portem Christi mortem, passionis fac consortem, et plagas recolere.	Let me, to my latest breath, in my body bear the death of that dying Son of thine.
Fac me plagis vulnerari, fac me Cruce inebriari, et cruore Filii.	Wounded with His every wound, steep my soul till it hath swooned, in His very Blood away;
Flammis ne urar succensus, per te, Virgo, sim defensus in die iudicii.	Be to me, O Virgin, nigh, lest in flames I burn and die, in His awful Judgment Day.
Christe, cum sit hinc exire, da per Matrem me venire ad palmam victoriae.	Christ, when Thou shalt call me hence, by Thy Mother my defense, by Thy Cross my victory;
Quando corpus morietur, fac, ut animae donetur paradisi gloria. Amen.	While my body here decays, may my soul Thy goodness praise, safe in paradise with Thee. Amen.

---

From the Liturgia Horarum. Translation by Fr. Edward Caswall (1814-1878)

Prayer To Our Lady of Sorrows, by St. Bridget

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Immaculate Mother of God, who didst endure a martyrdom of love and grief beholding the sufferings and sorrows of Jesus! Thou didst cooperate in the benefit of my redemption by thine innumerable afflictions and by offering to the Eternal Father His only begotten Son as a holocaust and victim of propitiation for my sins. I thank thee for the unspeakable love which led thee to deprive thyself of the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus, true God and true Man, to save me, a sinner. Oh, make use of the unfailing intercession of thy sorrows with the Father and the Son, that I may steadfastly amend my life and never again crucify my loving Redeemer by new sins, and that, persevering till death in His grace. I may obtain eternal life through the merits of His Cross and Passion. Amen.

Mother of love, of sorrow and of mercy, pray for us.

Saint Alphonsus Liguori's Prayer To The Mother Of Sorrows

O, my Blessed Mother, it is not one sword only with which I have pierced thy heart, but I have done so with as many as are the sins which I have committed. O, Lady, it is not to thee, who art innocent, that sufferings are due, but to me, who am guilty of so many crimes. But since thou hast been pleased to suffer so much for me, by thy merits, obtain me great sorrow for my sins, and patience under the trials of this life, which will always be light in comparison with my demerits; for I have often deserved Hell.
Amen.

 

Stabet Mater Dolorosa (catholic/orthodox caucus)
[CATHOLIC/ORTHODOX CAUCUS] Spirituality: Our Lady of Sorrows
The Seven Swords Rosary Of Our Lady Of Sorrows [Catholic Caucus] Prayer and Meditation
The Rosary of the Seven Sorrows [Catholic Caucus] Prayer/Devotion
Our Lady of Sorrows, part I: "Her Martyrdom was longer and greater than that of all the martyrs"

Lists Every Catholic Should be Familiar With: The 7 Sorrows (Dolours) and 7 Joys of Our Lady
The Seven Dolors (Sorrows) of Mary [Catholic/Orthodox Devotional]
Apparition in Africa: Our Lady of Sorrows [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Feast of the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary [Catholic Caucus Devotional]
Feast of Our Lady/Mother of Sorrows
Homilies on Our Lady of Sorrows
Starkenburg:Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Sorrows Shrine
Our Mother of Sorrows
ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI, OF THE DOLOURS OF MARY, The Glories [Sorrows] of Mary
Our Lady of Sorrows - Sep 15

[Salvation]

September, 2018

The Holy Father's Prayer Intention

Universal – Young People in Africa, That young people in Africa may have access to education and work in their own countries.

[Salvation]

'Mary's sorrow was less when she saw her only Son crucified, than it is now at the sight of man offending Him by sin.'

St. Ignatius of Loyola

[Salvation]

The Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:  And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.  Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.  Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.  Hail Mary . . .  And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.  Hail Mary . . .  Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.  Let us pray:  Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.  "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you" (Lk 1:28)   "Blessed are you among women,  and blessed is the fruit of your womb" (Lk 1:42).

[Salvation]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/3689802/posts

Saint of the Day — Saint Lorenzo Ruiz and Companions

[Salvation]

St. Lawrence Ruiz and Companions (1600?-1637)
St Lorenzo Ruiz

[Salvation]

Information: St. Thomas of Villanova

Feast Day: September 22

Born: 1488, Spain

Died: 1555, in Valencia, Spain

Canonized: November 1, 1658 by Pope Alexander VII

[Salvation]

CATHOLIC ALMANAC

Saturday, September 22

Liturgical Color: Green

Today the Church honors the 233
Martyrs of Valencia. They were
priests, religious and laity killed for
their faith during the Spanish Civil
War (1936-1939). Thousands of
Catholics were killed and many
convents and churches burned.

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Ordinary Time: September 22nd

Saturay of the Twenty Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

MASS READINGS

September 22, 2018 (Readings on USCCB website)

COLLECT PRAYER

Look upon us, O God, Creator and ruler of all things, and, that we may feel the working of your mercy, grant that we may serve you With all our heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

show

Recipes (2)

• Paella II
• Spanish Casserole

show

Activities (2)

• Religion in the Home for Elementary School: September
• Religion in the Home for Preschool: September

show

Prayers (2)

• September Devotion: Our Lady of Sorrows
• Collect for the Commemoration of St. Maurice and Companion Martyrs

Library (0)

» Enjoy our Liturgical Seasons series of e-books!

Old Calendar: St. Thomas of Villanova, bishop and confessor; Sts. Maurice and Companions, martyrs; the Theban Legion, martyrs

According to the 1962 Missal of St. John XXIII the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, today is the feast of St. Thomas of Villanova, a great saint of the Spanish Renaissance and a good friend of Emperor Charles V. He was a man of infinite charity in word and deed and lived as frugally as the poor who benefited by his unstinted almsgiving. While provincial of his order in Castile, he sent the first group of Augustinians to the Americas. Establishing themselves in Mexico, they were integral in the growth of Christianity in the New World.

This date is also the commemoration of Sts. Maurice and Companions, Christian soldiers who were massacred in Switzerland because they refused to offer sacrifices to pagan gods. They are also called the Theban Legion.

---

St. Thomas of Villanova
St. Thomas was born in Spain in 1488, and inherited a special love toward the poor from his parents; he often gave away his very clothes. After the death of his father and mother, he used his inheritance to sustain poor virgins. He became a lecturer in the higher schools at Alcala, entered the order of the Hermits of St. Augustine in 1516 at Villanova, and acted as court preacher to Charles V. Against his will he was made archbishop of Valencia (1544), then exercised the office as a zealous shepherd of souls and a great friend of the poor. The bed in which he died was borrowed back from the one to whom he had given it as alms shortly before. During the sixteenth century he was called the "apostle of the Spaniards."

Excerpted from The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

Symbols: open purse; wallet; bishop's mitre; book; bag of coins.

---

St. Maurice and Companions
St. Maurice was an officer in the Theban Legion, a unit in the army of the Emperor Maximian Herculius. This Legion, from Upper Egypt, was entirely Christian, and when Maximian ordered his soldiers at Octodurum (now called Martigny, Switzerland) to sacrifice to the gods as a way of ensuring victory in battle, Maurice and two other officers led the Theban Legion in refusing, and thelegion with drew to Agaunum (now St.-Maurice, in the Swiss Canton of Valais). With Maurice encouraging the legionnaires to remain constant, even after the Emperor had the legion decimated (every tenth man killed), the legionnaires answered, "We have arms in our hands, but we do not resist because we would rather die innocent than live by any sin." Maximian ordered the rest of his army to kill the Christian legionnaires. The Theban legion numbered about 6,600 men, but the actual number killed remains unclear. Others were martyred for refusing to share in the spoils of the legionnaires. St. Eucherius, a fifth-century bishop of Lyons, noted that many miracles took place at the shrine of these martyrs. They are buried under the Basilica of St.-Maurice-en-Valais in Switzerland.

Excerpted from 2020 Saints Calendar & Daily Planner, Tan Books

Patron: Against gout; against cramping; against arthritis; Alpine troops; armies; Austria; clothmakers; dyers; infantrymen; Piedmont, Italy; Sardinia; soldiers; swordsmiths; weavers.

Symbols: Armour; banner with lion rampant; sword; seven stars; eagle on a shield; red cross;
Often Portrayed As: soldier; soldier being executed with other soldiers; knight (sometimes a Moor) in full armour, bearing a standard and a palm; knight in armour with a red cross on his breast, which is the badge of the Sardinian Order of Saint Maurice.

Things to Do:

• Read the Golden Legend story of St. Maurice.

---

The Theban Legion
The Theban legion numbered more than six thousand men. They marched from the East into Gaul, and proved their loyalty at once to their Emperor and to their God. They were encamped near the Lake of Geneva, under the Emperor Maximian, when they got orders to turn their swords against the Christian population, and refused to obey. In his fury Maximian ordered them to be decimated. The order was executed once and again, but they endured this without a murmur or an effort to defend themselves.

St. Maurice, the chief captain in this legion of martyrs, encouraged the rest to persevere and follow their comrades to heaven. "Know, O Emperor," he said, "that we are your soldiers, but we are servants also of the true God. In all things lawful we will most readily obey, but we cannot stain our hands in this innocent blood. We have seen our comrades slain, and we rejoice at their honor. We have arms, but we resist not, for we had rather die without shame than live by sin."

As the massacre began, these generous soldiers flung down their arms, offered their necks to the sword, and suffered themselves to be butchered in silence.

Excerpted from Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Luke 8:4-15

Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The anxieties and riches and pleasures of life. (Luke 8:14)

“Riches and pleasures”—it’s easy to see how these can choke off our experience of God’s grace. But what about anxiety? Anxiety seems like a bit of an odd man out. Riches and pleasures are attractive and can tempt us away from the Lord, but anxiety works in a different way: too many bills to pay and not enough money to pay them. A stressful job with too many expectations. Health concerns. Tension within families.

Anxiety is a part of everyday life. But then there’s extreme anxiety, which can dominate our minds. Professional studies have told us that this kind of anxiety can cause us to become physically sick—it can feel as if it’s choking us to death.

Jesus dealt with everyday

anxieties his whole life. He never lost his peace, but he was always being confronted with issues, questions, and problems that he had to address. Think about all the times Jesus was confronted with his apostles’ worldly thinking. Or what about having to contend with the Pharisees and scribes who opposed him? Surely Jesus became anxious as he faced the days leading up to his crucifixion.

Jesus wants to help us deal with the anxieties of life. He wants to help us keep them in the proper perspective. One of the best ways he helps is by giving us the word of God. Scripture can comfort us. It can tell us that God is with us and that he knows what we are facing—because Jesus himself faced it as well (Hebrews 4:14-15).

Here are just a few words from Scripture that will help you keep anxiety in the right perspective. As you read them ask Jesus to help you deal with your anxiety.

• “I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand” (Isaiah 41:10).

• “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The Lord is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1).

Will these passages make your anxieties vanish completely? Not necessarily. But holding on to them can help keep you from being overwhelmed by the anxieties of life.

“Lord, help me hold onto your word when I am feeling choked by anxiety.”

1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49
Psalm 56:10-14

[Salvation]

Daily Gospel Commentary

Saint John-Mary Vianney (1786-1859)
priest, curé of Ars
Sermon

"Some seed fell on good soil, and... produced fruit a hundredfold." If you ask me what Jesus Christ means by this sower who goes out early to cast his seed over his field then, my brethren, that sower is the good God himself, who began the work of our salvation from the beginning of the world by sending us his prophets before the coming of Christ to teach us what was needed if we would be saved. Not content with sending his servants, he came himself; he marked out the way we should take; he came to make known his holy word.

Do you know what a person is like who is not fed by this holy word?... Such a person is like a patient without a doctor, a traveller who is lost and without a guide, a poverty stricken person without means of help. Brethren, it is absolutely impossible to love and please God unless we are fed by this divine word. What can draw us to follow him unless by knowing him? And who enables us to know him, with all his perfections, beauty and love for us, if not the word of God, who teaches us about everything he has done for us and the good things he has in store for us in the next life?

[Salvation]

Marriage = One Man and One Woman Until Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for September 22, 2018:

Gifts on birthdays and Christmas are fine, but a surprise trinket/flowers may be even more delightful.

[Salvation]

Regnum Christi

September 22, 2018 – Treat Me Like Dirt!

21 Sep 2018

Saturday of the Twenty-Fourth Week in Ordinary Time

Father David Daly, LC

Luke 8:4-15

When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to him, he spoke in a parable. “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” 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 trial. 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.”

 

Introductory Prayer: Lord Jesus Christ, thank you for this precious time of meditation and dialogue with you. In meditating on the Parable of the Sower, help me to change so that I will not put any thorns, rocks or hardness of heart in the way of your plans for my life.

Petition: Lord, grant me docility to your will for me.

1. Hard Ground: We act like hard ground when we hear the inspirations of the Holy Spirit to do what is right but let them pass as if it were no big deal. We let the devil take away the grace Jesus offers us, and it does not sink into our hearts. Many times, superficiality and a lack of faith prevent us from reflecting and taking advantage of the lights that God gives us. We should pray to be more spiritual.

2. Rocky Ground: How many of us hear the Word of God with joy and follow Christ in the peaceful times, but fall away in the times of trial? We need to let our spiritual roots grow deeper; we need to let the roots of God’s word grow more profoundly into our hearts. The best way to do this is by reading and meditating on the Gospel and solidifying this faith through the sacraments of confession and the Eucharist.

3. Thorny Ground: The thorny ground represents those of us who are slowed down in our spiritual life by the anxieties, riches and pleasures of life. When the ground of our hearts is thorny, we fail to produce the mature fruit that Christ expects. And we live in the midst of so many thorns…. In order to let God’s grace grow in us, we have to sacrifice our own comfort and pleasure, because apart from the cross there is no growth in personal holiness.

Dialogue with Christ: Lord Jesus, treat me like dirt … but good dirt. I don’t want to place thorns or rocks or hardness of heart in the way of your word. I want to be fertile soil for your word so that you can use me as an instrument to save souls and glorify you.

Resolution: I promise to pray these words many times today: “Not my will, but yours be done.”

[Salvation]

One Bread, One Body

One Bread, One Body

Language: English | Espanol

All Issues > Volume 34, Issue 5

<< Saturday, September 22, 2018 >>

1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49
View Readings

Psalm 56:10-14

Luke 8:4-15
Similar Reflections

THE MIRACLE OF A HUNDREDFOLD

"But some fell on good soil, grew up, and yielded grain a hundredfold." �Luke 8:8

The Lord promises we can receive His Word to bear fruit a hundredfold. This is like saying $1,000 will turn into $100,000 which is an astronomical increase. Most Christians believe God's Word will help, bless, teach, and even heal them, but few expect the hundredfold harvest.

If we took seriously the Lord's promise of a hundredfold, we would do our very best to:

1. tremble in prayer as we open the Bible,
2. kiss the Bible before opening it,
3. never miss our daily Bible reading,
4. go to Mass more often than Sunday,
5. daily read the Bible with our children and spouse, and
6. encourage our children to seriously consider a lifetime ministry of preaching or teaching God's Word.

When we expect the hundredfold harvest of God's Word, our entire lives are transformed. We receive His Word not as the word of man but of God (1 Thes 2:13), "humbly welcome" it (Jas 1:21), and "act on this word" (Jas 1:22).

Prayer: Lord, may Your Word burn in my heart (Lk 24:32).

Promise: "Just as we resemble the man from earth, so shall we bear the likeness of the Man from heaven." —1 Cor 15:49

Praise: By facilitating Life in the Spirit Seminars, Barbara has helped hundreds to new spiritual life.

[Salvation]

A little outdated, but still applicable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61wj4tJICcc