When we’re busy, the first thing that drops from our to-do list is time with God. Praying becomes unimportant, and going to church becomes optional. Our spiritual life turns into a side dish—we have it when we feel like it. 

Whenever I invite people to attend The Feast, one of the most common answers I get is, “I’m not ready.” To which I reply, “I’m not ready either. That’s why I attend The Feast.” We think that we must be totally clean in mind, body, and soul to start a relationship with God. Bad news is, we will never be totally clean. But the good news is, God will take us at our worst. 

Despite serving at The Feast, I’m still guilty of putting the Lord aside occasionally. But the beauty of having a steady relationship with Christ is that I’m always led to where I should be—in Him. 

If you haven’t found the Lord, come to The Feast. If you have found Him before but somehow lost your way, return now. Once you return, don’t retreat. Just surrender. Laarni Uy (laarni.u@svrtv.com) 

Reflect:

Accept and believe that, at your worst or at your best, God loves you to the fullest. 

Lord, forgive me for taking my focus off You. Amidst the twists and turns of life, remind me that You are always the best turning point. Amen. 

Saints Joachim and Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary, pray for us.

First Reading | Jeremiah 3:14-17 

Jeremiah tells the people that the days of glory will eventually return. Jerusalem will once again be revered as a great city among the nations and people will flock to it. As hard as it might be to accept such a prophecy in the midst of exile or suffering, sometimes, this is all that we have in our spiritual journey. Our physical realities should not dictate to us what to feel and what to do. Let us discern God’s call and then work on how to bring it about. This demands trust and faith in God’s promises on our part. 

¹⁴ Return, rebellious children, says the Lord, for I am your Master; I will take you, one from a city, two from a clan, and bring you to Zion. ¹⁵ I will appoint over you shepherds after my own heart, who will shepherd you wisely and prudently. ¹⁶ When you multiply and become fruitful in the land, says the Lord, they will in those days no longer say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord!” They will no longer think of it, or remember it, or miss it, or make another. ¹⁷ At that time they will call Jerusalem the Lord’s throne; there all nations will be gathered together to honor the name of the Lord at Jerusalem, and they will walk no longer in their hardhearted wickedness. 

Responsorial Psalm | Jeremiah 31:10, 11-12, 13

R: The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock. 

¹⁰ Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, proclaim it on distant isles, and say: He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together, he guards them as a shepherd his flock. (R) ¹¹ The Lord shall ransom Jacob, he shall redeem him from the hand of his conqueror. ¹² Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion, they shall come streaming to the Lord’s blessings: The grain, the wine, and the oil, the sheep and the oxen. (R) ¹³ Then the virgins shall make merry and dance, and young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will console and gladden them after their sorrows. (R) 

Gospel | Matthew 13:18-23

Busyness is one of the biggest challenges to our faith today. Our busyness threatens to crowd our lives such that we do not have the time and space to reflect on God’s Word. Our need to connect with Him is lost in our many tasks, most of which are unnecessary. Let us always make time and space for God and for His will for us. 

Gospel Acclamation

Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance. 

¹⁸ Jesus said to his disciples: “Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. ²⁰ The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. ²¹ But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. ²² The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. ²³ But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.” 

Reflect:

What kind of “soil” are you in which the Lord sows the seed of His Word?

 Read the Bible in one year! Read PSALMS 96 - 100 today.

The Good Soil

A lay person asked me, “Father, how many minutes should I pray?” I asked her, “How much time do you have? Remember, God is not subject to time. He will accept whatever you have in your hands. He will accept how much prayer time you set aside for Him.” 

Our prayer life is the soil environment. When we pray, it’s not primarily for God; it is actually for our own benefit. Because when we generously give time for prayer, God generously makes our life meaningful and fruitful. 

Through a parable, Jesus illustrates four kinds of environment where seeds are sown: those that landed on the path, which was stolen away; those that fell on rocky ground, which did not last for long; the one that landed on the thorns, which got choked; and of course, those that fell on good soil. The parable in today’s Gospel is more apt to be called the Parable of the Sower. It refers to the desire, attitude, and the disposition of the farmer or the person planting. Applied to our spiritual life, we can relate it to how we desire prayer. 

If the soil is on a pathway, there’s no prayer life at all. Prayer is not included in one’s daily schedule. And most of the time, going to Sunday Mass is just an obligation, but there is no real desire to be with Jesus. 

If the soil is rocky, it’s like praying once in a while, with novena and rosaries, but when boredom comes, it’s easily abandoned. 

If the soil is thorny, it’s like when problems and trials come, one panics and surrenders, immediately giving up prayer. 

If the soil is good, one’s prayer is a prayer of determination. It is a lifelong relational commitment.

To have a rich prayer life, it would be good to start cultivating a good soil within you. Try to dispose yourself to prayer and have the necessary materials that will help you deepen your spiritual life. Fr. Wen Amit, OCD 

Reflection Question:

Are you still excited to pray? How can you be a good soil? 

Lord, help me to be a good soil so that Your Word may take root and bear fruit in me. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ______________________________________