DAILY GOSPEL Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. John 6:68 Wednesday, 29 January 2014 Wednesday of the Third week in Ordinary Time Saint(s) of the day : St. Gildas the Wise, Abbot (6th century) Saint Caesarius of Arles : They bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold 2nd book of Samuel 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 Israelites out of Egypt to the present, but I have been going about in a tent under cloth. In all my wanderings everywhere among the Israelites, 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. Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Mark 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 root; 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. Copyright © Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, USCCB Commentary of the day : Saint Caesarius of Arles (470-543), monk and Bishop Sermons to the people, no.6 passim ; SC 175 They bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold My beloved brethren, when we expound to you something of value for your souls, let no one attempt to excuse themselves by saying: “I havent time to read and so I cant get to know Gods commandments or keep them”... Let us cut ourselves off from empty gossiping and sarcastic wit... and then see whether we dont have enough time to give to the reading of Holy Scripture... When the nights get longer is there anyone needing to sleep so much that he cannot read in person, or listen to someone else reading, Scripture?... For the light of the soul and its eternal nourishment are nothing other than the Word of God without which our hearts can neither live nor see... Care of our souls is just like tilling the soil. Just as, on cultivated land, we pull up here and root out there so as to sow good seed, so must we do in our soul: pull up what is evil and plant what is good; root out what is harmful and transplant what is of value; dig out pride by the root and plant humility; throw away avarice and keep mercy; disdain impurity and love chastity... Indeed, you all know how land is cultivated. First of all you pull out the weeds and throw away the stones, then you work the ground itself. You do it again a second time, a third time, and finally... you sow. Oh, let it be like this in our souls! First of all let us uproot the weeds, that is to say our evil thoughts; then take out the stones, in other words all our malice and obstinacy. Finally, let us work our hearts with the plow of the Gospel and the plowshare of the cross. Let us break it by repentance, turn over the soil with almsgiving and, with charity, prepare it for the seed of Our Lord... that it may joyfully receive the seed of the divine word and bring forth fruit, not just thirty but sixty and a hundredfold.
Posted on: Wed, 29 Jan 2014 06:40:01 +0000
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