St. Sharbel  Makhluf, priest 

＊＊＊1st Reading＊＊＊

Ex 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.”

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Mt 13：1-9

 That same day Jesus left the house and sat down by the lakeside. Many people gathered around him, So he got into a boat, and sat down, 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, s 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 they 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 a hundredfold,    others sixty and others thirty. If you have ears, then hear!”

 

Reflection gospel：

“OTHER SEEDS FELL ON GOOD SOIL AND PROCUCED A GOOD CROP.”

A number of elements in the parable may be an excellent focus for reflection, namely: sower, the seed, the ground, the act of sowing itself, the receiving of the seeds, and the meeting of the seeds and the ground. All, being important, make possible the meeting or the encounter.

At any stage, or circumstance – might be people or events – in our life, an encounter with Jesus becomes a defining moment. It may or may not be transforming, depending on our response. But it is something we can take advantage of. An encounter with Jesus can make us whole again, bringing together our” scattered pieces.”

As fruits of the encounter, we are re-grounded in the truth and meaningfulness of life; we are able to re-orient ourselves toward the good, the truth, and that which is meaningful. Let us, therefore pray that we truly encounter Jesus, even just once in our lifetime, because it will radically change us and our life, and allow us to see things in a new light.