Tuesday, July 19, 2011
WEDNESDAY 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I
WEDNESDAY 16TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR I
Ex 16:1-5, 9-15 / Ps 78:18-19, 23-24, 25-26, 27-28 / Mt 13:1-9
EXODUS 16:1-5, 9-15
The Israelites left Elim and the entire community reached the desert
of Sin, between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second
month after leaving Egypt. In the desert the whole community of Israel
grumbled against Moses and Aaron and said to them, "If only we had
died by the hand of Yahweh in Egypt when we sat down to caldrons of
meat and ate all the bread we wanted, whereas you have brought us to
this desert to let the whole assembly die of starvation!" Yahweh then
said to Moses, "Now I am going to rain down bread from heaven for you.
Each day the people are to gather what is needed for that day. In this
way I will test them to see if they will follow my Teaching or not. On
the sixth day when they prepare what they have brought in, they will
find that there is twice as much as they gather each day." Then Moses
directed Aaron to say to the whole community of Israel, "Draw near to
Yahweh for he has heard your complaints." It happened that as Aaron
was speaking to the full assembly of Israel, they turned towards the
desert and saw the Glory of Yahweh in the midst of the cloud. Then
Yahweh spoke to Moses, "I have heard the complaints of Israel. Speak
to them and say: Between the two evenings you will eat meat, and in
the morning you will have bread to your heart's content; then you
shall know that I am Yahweh, your God!" In the evening quails came up
and covered the camp. And in the morning, dew had fallen around the
camp. When the dew lifted, there was on the surface of the desert a
thin crust like hoarfrost. The people of Israel upon seeing it said to
one another, "What is it?" for they didn't know what it was. Moses
told them, "It is the bread that Yahweh has given you to eat."
MATTHEW 13:1-9
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!"
REFLECTION
Jesus relates the parable of the sower to those who are willing to
listen. In this story, the seeds represent Jesus' words and the
promise of the Kingdom of God and the soil is the soul in which it is
"planted." It is the kind of heart that hears his words.
The seeds were spread on different types of ground: on the open path,
the rocky ground, among the thorns and on fertile soil. These are the
different types of hearers of his words. The first hearers, the closed
and prejudiced hearers won't even hear the words. They have closed
their hearts to what God has to say. The second hearers are the
shallow hearers. They hear the words but could care less on what is
being said. The third hearers are the ready but distracted and
unfocused hearers. They hear the words, care about what is said and
may actually contemplate on their meaning but then something happens
and they forget God's words because they become preoccupied with
something else. And finally, there are the fourth hearers. They are
truly Jesus' target audience when he chose to speak in parables. Fr.
Keating, SJ's description says it all as to what these hearers have
that make them the perfect "soul" to speak to. They are those with
"open minds and open hearts." God's words are what we need to hear,
comprehend and then hopefully, to follow.
Do you hear his words? Have you given your "yes" to him? What kind of
hearer are you?
PRAYER REQUESTS
We pray …
… for a deep and profound respect for life, especially for the
unborn.
… for the speedy recovery and healing of
- Jo Marcelo
- Jun Lee
- Jonathan Salazar
- Mon Torres
- Judy
… for the personal intentions of Josheil Dapo
… In Thanksgiving: Manuel Alapide
… for the eternal repose of the souls of
- Joshua Peters
- Moneeyeen Singson
… for all the prayer intentions in the MTQ Dailyprayer Diary.
- Birthday: Angelita Corona
- Birthday: Charlie Brown Tan
- In Memoriam (+): Yan Chin Bee
… for families who are in need of healing
… 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!
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