blessed Virgin Mary 

＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊ 

1 Timothy 6:13-16

 Now, in the presence of God

Who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus who gave the good testimony before Pontius Pilate,   I command you to keep the commandment. Keep your­self pure and blameless until the glorious coming of Christ Jesus, our Lord,  which God will bring about at the proper time, he, the magnificent sovereign, King of kings and Lord of lords.

 To him, alone immortal, who lives in unapproachable light and whom no one has ever seen or can see, to him be honor and power for ever and ever. Amen!

 

Ps 100:1b, 2, 3, 4, 5

Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊

Luke 8:4-15

As a great crowd gathered and people came to him from every town, Jesus began teaching them through stories, or para­bles,  “The sower went out to sow the seed. And as he sowed, some of the grain fell along the way, was trodden on and the birds of the sky ate it up.

Some fell on rocky ground, and no sooner had it come up than it withered, because it had no water.   Some fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with the seed and choked it.   But some fell on good soil and grew, producing fruit – a hundred times as much.” And Jesus cried out, “Listen then, if you have ears to hear!”

 The disciples asked him, “What does this story mean?”   And Jesus answered, “You have been granted to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to others it is given in the form of stories, or parables, so that seeing they may not perceive and hearing they may not understand.”

 Now, this is the point of the parable:

The seed is the word of God. Those along the wayside are people who hear it, but immediately the devil comes and takes the word from their minds, for he doesn’t want them to believe and be saved.  

 Those on the rocky ground are people who receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe for a while and give way in time of trial.  Among the thorns are people who hear the word but as they go their way, are choked by worries, riches, and the pleasures of life; they bring no fruit to maturity.  

The good soil, instead, are people who receive the word and keep it in a gentle and generous mind, and persevering patiently, they bear fruit.

 

Gospel Reflection：

Very few people, perhaps even no one, can resist the charm of a story. Long before the advent of technology, storytelling was among the main entertainment forms of the community. That is why a good storyteller was much sought-after in ancient times.

They weave powerful spells using words, keeping the audience enthralled. And even today, a story is still one of the all-time best vehicles for imparting lessons. And Jesus, being a good teacher, employs this technique to teach the people. One problem with stories is that they can be multifaceted.

Sometimes, we need an interpretive key to understand them. And so, in the parable of the sower today, even the disciples cannot make head or tail of the story. Jesus has to tell them that the seed is the word of God.

The different conditions of the soil parallel the hearts into which the word of God is spread. Thus the result varies. The lessons that stories give are rich and layered. That is why we need to spend time unpacking them.