Readings: Saturday, September 17, 2011

First Reading

 

First Reading: 1 Tim 6:13-16

Beloved:
I charge you before God, who gives life to all things,
and before Christ Jesus,
who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate
for the noble confession,
to keep the commandment without stain or reproach
until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ
that the blessed and only ruler
will make manifest at the proper time,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,
and whom no human being has seen or can see.
To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.

Responsorial Psalm

 

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4,

R./ Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

Sing joyfully to the LORD all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R./ Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R./ Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R./ Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

For he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R./ Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

Holy Gospel

 

Gospel Reading: Lk 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.