Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time

The Sower 
by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, 
1880

(Optional Memorial for Saint Januarius, Bishop and Martyr)

(Optional Memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary)

 

On Saturdays in Ordinary Time when there is no obligatory memorial, an optional memorial of the Blessed Virgin Mary is allowed[1]. Mass texts may be taken from the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary, from a Votive Mass, or from the special collection of Masses for the Blessed Virgin Mary.

 

Alternate Proper for the Memorial of St. Januarius

 

Readings for Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time [2][3]

 

Readings from the Jerusalem Bible

 

Commentary:

 

Reading 1: 1 Timothy 6:13-16

 

Commentary on 1 Tm 6:13-16

 

Following St. Paul’s instructions regarding various ministries, here the Apostle, using Christ’s passion as an example, lays a solemn obligation on his student. St. Paul exhorts Timothy to dedicate himself completely and selflessly to the work of ministry.  That is most likely the commandment he speaks of – the requirement to keep God first in his life.  The passage concludes with an eloquent liturgical profession or doxology of faith in the Savior.

 

CCC: 1 Tm 6:15-16 2641; 1 Tm 6:16 52

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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5

 

R. (2) Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.

 

Commentary on Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5

 

Psalm 100 is a communal song of thanksgiving. In this selection we give thanks for God’s favor and his unending support in all good things. It affirms God’s saving grace given to His sons and daughters through all generations.

 

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Gospel: Luke 8:4-15

 

Commentary on Lk 8:4-15

 

Jesus uses the rich analogy of the seed (of faith given in Baptism) to show the various courses of faith in human endeavor. Because our selection gives not only the parable but the Lord’s explanation of its meaning the only historical note we will make is that, at that point in history in that region, when planting a field, the seed was sown first and then the field was plowed.

(See more extensive commentary on Matthew 13:1-23)

 

CCC: Lk 8:6 2731; Lk 8:10 1151; Lk 8:13-15 2847; Lk 8:13 2731; Lk 8:15 368, 2668

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Reflection:

 

Much has been said about the parable of the Sower (even in this space) and much can be extracted from that wonderful parable.  It reminds us so quickly that regardless of our station in life or place on the path of faith, we can always wander off into the weeds or rocks and fall pray to the elements around us.

 

This week we heard the story of a young lady.  She was brought up in a good home, although one that suffered the fate many have suffered in this modern age, that of divorce.  Shortly after that unfortunate event occurred, the young girl, then 9, began to rebel against the faith. Her mother remarried, but the young lady grew up with faith that was almost an afterthought in her life.

 

She graduated from high school and went away to college, a “Catholic” college in Chicago and enrolled in a Social Work program.  She felt drawn to serve others you see.  Her first years were like most college students, a search for acceptance and a place in the new cultural environment.  This young lady found her way into a “Women’s Studies” program.  How and why she was drawn there is not important.  What is important is not that she was drawn there, but what she encountered.

 

The faculty and staff of this program advocate in their personal lives a homosexual lifestyle.  (Please note, this is not a condemnation of Women’s Studies” programs in general.)  Although to this point, our young subject’s life had been somewhat typical for an attractive young lady (numerous boyfriends, some more serious than others), her new friends and teachers began to show her how wrong her beliefs had been and how narrow her understanding of human sexuality.

 

Roughly a year after entering the program (over her parent’s concerns – they are paying the bills).  She announced to them that she was going to enter into a homosexual relationship with an older woman with whom she had formed a relationship.  Her conservative parents are understandably devastated.  They have tried various inducements (they even tried to force her out of this situation by cutting off support) but she is convinced this is where she is accepted.

 

What is the moral here?  The parents are good people and tried to bring their daughter up in a loving home.  They are active in the parish (not activists but practicing).  They see the results of a weak faith being plunged among weeds that have now completely changed their daughter’s moral outlook.  Oh, and the priest who called from the university to address the parent’s concerns with this situation told them that the institution needed to be open to all lifestyles if it was to be an effective learning institution.

 

Seeds are hearty but delicate things.  They can grow in almost any medium.  But without having the lesson taught by St. Paul – that being faith must be a priority – they can grow in unintended and undesirable ways, falling prey to those who would USE them, telling them that their lust is love.

 

Pax

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[1] General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar Miscellaneous Notes no. 5

[2] S.S Commemoratio

[3] The picture is The Sower by Sir Edward Burne-Jones, 1880