DAILY- HOMILY

JULY 10, 2011
15TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME –A

Is 55:10-11 / Ps 65:10, 11, 12-13, 14 / Rom 8:18-23 / Mt 13:1-23 or
13:1-9

ISAIAH 55:10-11
Thus says the Lord: As the rain and the snow come down from the
heavens and do not return till they have watered the earth, making it
yield seed for the sower and food for others to eat, so is my word
that goes forth out of my mouth: it will not return to me idle, but it
shall accomplish my will, the purpose for which it has been sent.

ROMANS 8:18-23
Brothers and sisters: "I consider that the suffering of our present
life cannot be compared with the Glory that will be revealed and given
to us. All creation is eagerly expecting the birth in glory of the
children of God. For if now the created world was unable to attain its
purpose, this did not come from itself, but from the one who subjected
it. But i t is not without hope; for even the created world will be
freed from this fate of death and share the freedom and glory of the
children of God. We know that the whole creation groans and suffers
the pangs of birth. Not creation alone, but even ourselves, although
the Spirit was given to us as a foretaste of what we are to receive,
we groan in our innermost being, eagerly awaiting the day when God
will give us full rights and rescue our bodies as well.

MATTHEW 13:1-23
Jesus left the house and sat down by the lakeside. As many people
gathered around him, he got in a boat. There he sat while the whole
crowd stood on the shore, and he spoke to them in parables about many
things. Jesus said, "The sower went out to sow and, as he sowed, some
seeds fell along the path and the birds came and ate them up. Other
seeds fell on rocky ground where there was little soil, and the seeds
sprouted quickly because the soil was not deep. But as soon the sun
rose the plants were scorched and withered because they had no roots.
Again other seeds fell among thistles; and the thistles grew and
choked the plants. Still other seeds fell on good soil and produced a
crop; some produced a hundredfold, others sixty and others thirty. If
you have ears, then hear!" Then his disciples came to him with the
question, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" Jesus answered, "To
you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven,
but not to these people. For the one who has, will be given more and
he will have in abundance. But the one who does not have will be
deprived of even what he has. That is why I speak to them in parables,
because they look and do not see; they hear, but they do not listen or
understand. In them the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled:
Much as you hear, you do not understand; much as you see, you do not
perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull. Their ears
hardly hear and their eyes dare not see. If they were to see with
their eyes, hear with their ears and understand with their heart, they
would turn back and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes
because they see, and your ears, because they hear. For I tell you
that many prophets and upright people would have longed to see the
things you see, but they did not, and to hear the things you hear, but
they did not hear it. Now listen to the parable of the sower. When a
person hears the message of the Kingdom but without taking it to
himself, the devil comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.
This is the seed that fell along the footpath. The seed that fell on
rocky ground stands for the one who hears the word and accepts it at
once with joy. But such a person has no roots. No sooner is he
harassed or persecuted because of the word, than he gives up. The seed
that fell among the thistles is the one who hears the word, but then
the worries of this life and the love of money choke the word, and it
does not bear fruit. As for the seed that fell on good soil it is the
one who hears the word and understands it; this bears fruit and
produces a hundred, or sixty, or thirty times more."

REFLECTION
The parable of the sower basically reflects the optimism of
Christianity. At the heart of Christianity is the hope of victory in
any work or under taking that is of God, or that is begun by God. No
matter how many hindrances or impediments are placed along the path of
God's work, his plan will surpass all these, and his purposes will not
come to waste. And so, like the sower who planted the seeds that fell
on different kinds of soil, God will see the day for the harvesting.

This optimism is what gives the Christian the capacity to look beyond
the setbacks he might have suffered as he pursues the will of God, or
the courage to acknowledge personal mistakes, perhaps misjudgments,
confusing God's will with one's own, and so to vigorously reorient
oneself to God's will once this is known. This optimism is a learned
optimism, not a naïve one, aware of the reality of sin and evil that
is ever at some dark corner waiting for an opportunity to thwart God's
plan.

Where can this optimism come from? From faith in the resurrection of
Christ, that singular event where life decisively won over death. This
faith is the solid foundation of this Christian optimism.

The Gospel addresses people taken over by pessimism, people who cannot
make sense out of the plan of God because they have closed their minds
to their own vision of things.

We people of faith would still believe that the message of
Christianity has not completely fallen on barren soil or rocky ground.
There are still men and women of good will in our time whose hearts
provide the ground for the values of the Gospel to grow. The growth
may not be very visible at first but in time, the grains will show.

The work of good and honest men will sustain in the end and provide
the growth that our world needs. For true growth can come only from
true nourishment that comes from the hands of good men whose works are
blessed by God. And so, even in difficult situations that our world is
in, there will still be a good harvest of the fruits of the work of
good and honest people. God will not allow the world to be hungry
forever for prosperity and peace.

Perhaps, the Gospel is again challenging us towards greater faith and
trust in God, towards faith that generates hope and optimism, and
towards trust that gives one the courage to leave things in the hands
of God and entrust to him the sowing.

PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Manuel A
- Ong Chong Chong
- Fr. Luis Sierra, OP
… for the personal intentions of Fr. Ted Gonzales, SJ
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Louis Keh
- Birthday: Enrique-Jaime Castillo
- Birthday: Hitchelle E Carstensen
- Birthday: Josefina N. Tandiama
- Birthday: Ever Lim Ngo
- Birthday: Fr. Francisco "Kit" Hernandez, SDB
- In Memoriam (+): Yu Cheng Pho (1911 - 1989)+
- In Memoriam (+): Macaria Co Yu (Jun 25, 1924 - Jul 10, 1988)+
… for world peace and reconciliation.

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers
and for those who need our prayers the most.

Have a good day!

**************************************************

These reflections are distributed free and are for personal use only.
Feel free to send the Daily Prayer reflections to your friends,
colleagues and relatives; however, if you do, please include the
following:

+================================================+
| The Daily Prayer, a service and an apostolate of the
| priests, laity and friends of Mary the Queen Parish
| http://www.marythequeen.org
| Distributed free and for personal use only.
+================================================+

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
GoogleGroup Address: http://groups.google.com/group/daily_homily
To subscribe from this free mailing service, send email to: dailyhomily@earthlink.net
To unsubscribe: daily_homily-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

© 2011 Daily-Homily