Menu
First Reading: 2 Samuel 7:4-17
That night the Lord spoke to Nathan and said:
"Go, tell my servant David, 'Thus says the Lord:
Should you build me a house to dwell in?
I have not dwelt in a house
from the day on which I led the children of Israel
out of Egypt to the present,
but I have been going about in a tent under cloth.
In all my wanderings everywhere among the children of Israel,
did I ever utter a word to any one of the judges
whom I charged to tend my people Israel, to ask:
Why have you not built me a house of cedar?'
"Now then, speak thus to my servant David,
'The Lord of hosts has this to say:
It was I who took you from the pasture
and from the care of the flock
to be commander of my people Israel.
I have been with you wherever you went,
and I have destroyed all your enemies before you.
And I will make you famous like the great ones of the earth.
I will fix a place for my people Israel;
I will plant them so that they may dwell in their place
without further disturbance.
Neither shall the wicked continue to afflict them as they did of old,
since the time I first appointed judges over my people Israel.
I will give you rest from all your enemies.
The Lord also reveals to you that he will establish a house for you.
And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors,
I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins,
and I will make his Kingdom firm.
It is he who shall build a house for my name.
And I will make his royal throne firm forever.
I will be a father to him,
and he shall be a son to me.
And if he does wrong,
I will correct him with the rod of men
and with human chastisements;
but I will not withdraw my favor from him
as I withdrew it from your predecessor Saul,
whom I removed from my presence.
Your house and your kingdom shall endure forever before me;
your throne shall stand firm forever.'"
Nathan reported all these words and this entire vision to David.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 89:4-5, 27-28, 29-30
R./ For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to David my servant:
I will make your dynasty stand forever
and establish your throne through all ages."
R./ For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"He shall cry to me, 'You are my father,
my God, the Rock that brings me victory!'
I myself make him firstborn,
Most High over the kings of the earth."
R./ For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
"Forever I will maintain my love for him;
my covenant with him stands firm.
I will establish his dynasty forever,
his throne as the days of the heavens."
R./ For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.
Gospel Reading: Mark 4:1-20
On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables,
and in the course of his instruction he said to them,
"Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
He added, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."
And when he was alone,
those present along with the Twelve
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them,
"The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that
they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven."
Jesus said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."
Opening Prayer
Lord, God of the covenant,
the houses of worship
that we build for you with our own hands
cannot contain you.
We thank you for building
with our meager help
your own dwelling place among us
where people live for one another
for the sake of him
who is your living presence among us,
Jesus Christ, our Lord for ever.
Liturgy of the Word
First Reading Introduction
A man of faith, David wants to build a house for God, to house the Ark of the Covenant, as the Ark was the sign of God's presence and union with his people. But David's loyalty to the covenant is enough for God. Instead, God will build a house for David: his royal house will be the origin of the coming Savior; through this Savior, God will dwell with his people for ever. In this Eucharist, we celebrate the joy of having God present among his people.
Gospel Introduction
Why has the kingdom of God not taken deeper roots among us? Why does it grow so slowly? In today's Gospel, Mark states that this is a mystery of God's efforts and people's lack of depth and understanding. The kingdom is here among us, but it meets the slowing down resistance of people. It is hard to respond to the demands of the Gospel, to be converted to God's plan with us, to form a community that lives according to God's norms and witnesses to God's presence. Are we willing to be that community which promotes the growth of God's kingdom?
General Intercessions
– That our Christian associations and organizations may better realize that all have to cooperate to be truly the Church of Christ, we pray:
– That our community may always be aware that it is not standing alone, but united in faith and love, in hope and service with the universal Church, we pray:
– That the Church may always be hospitable and be a home to strangers and refugees, people without a home or country, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God,
all you ask of us, your people,
to be present among us, your people,
and be loyal to you
through power of Jesus, your loyal Son.
We bring before you our faithful love
in these gifts of bread and wine
and beg you to stay with us,
to live among us,
to make your home among us
through your Son, Jesus Christ,
our Lord, for ever and ever.
Prayer after Communion
Lord, loyal God,
in this Eucharist, we have remembered
how you have saved us from our miseries
through your Son, Jesus Christ.
Keep journeying with us, your people,
give us rest from evil,
be a father to us
and let us be your sons and daughters
through your loyal Son,
Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
The Lord keeps sowing his word in us whenever he speaks to us in the readings from the Scriptures and whenever we see how good Christians practice their faith. May we hear that Word and live by it, with the blessing of Almighty God, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
