In the 60th founding anniversary celebration of my high school, we were awarded the Most Outstanding Batch. Of all the students that graduated, our batch made the most impact in loving service to the poor, positive influence to society, and consistent demonstration of Catholic values.

What gave me the goosebumps was when I saw what used to be selfish brats, unruly bullies, and borderline kickouts of the batch now being recognized for success in their fields,  generosity to the poor, and exemplary leadership.

On stage, I told our teachers in the audience, “If you thought your lessons were ignored, your efforts were unrewarded, and your advices were unappreciated, you’re wrong! We won’t be half of what we are now if not for your love and dedication. Your labor was not in vain.”

When people don’t respond to God’s Word in ways we expect and within our timetable, don’t write them off just yet. Some seeds just take time to grow. 

Jon Escoto (jonmaris@yahoo.com)

reflect

Are you writing yourself off too? Are you losing hope in yourself? Don’t. The seed is still alive. It may just be taking longer than you expected.

Jesus, I still believe that the seed of Your Word in my life is forever alive. May I be patient with myself as You are patient with me. Amen.

Saint Januarius, bishop and martyr, pray for us.

Paul does not focus on the mechanics of the resurrection; what matters to him is that God is at work—and how we respond to His grace. All that God has done for us will mean little unless we receive it in faith. Let us live with holiness and integrity, ensuring that the hope of eternal life we have received is not lost by returning to sinful ways.

³⁵ Brothers and sisters: Someone may say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?” ³⁶ You fool! What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. ³⁷ And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind. ⁴² So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. ⁴³ It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. ⁴⁴ It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one. ⁴⁵ So, too, it is written, The first man, Adam, became a living being, the last Adam a life-giving spirit. ⁴⁶ But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. ⁴⁷ The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. ⁴⁸ As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. ⁴⁹ Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

Responsorial Psalm | Psalm 56:10-12, 13-14

R: I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.

¹⁰ Now I know that God is with me. 11 In God, in whose promise I glory, ¹² in God I trust without fear; what can flesh do against me? (R) ¹³ I am bound, O God, by vows to you; your thank offerings I will fulfill. ¹⁴ For you have rescued me from death, my feet, too, from stumbling; that I may walk before God in the light of the living. (R)  

Gospel | Luke 8:4-15

Jesus’ parables reveal the many ways people respond to the Gospel, each shaped by individual circumstances and choices. Surrounding these responses are countless temptations, threatening to pull us away from true discipleship. We must keep our eyes fixed on the prize of eternal life—ensuring that the distractions and allure of the world do not divert us from our purpose.

Gospel Acclamation

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

⁴ When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable. ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. ⁶ Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. ⁷ Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. ⁸ And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” ⁹ Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. ¹⁰ He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand. ¹¹ “This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. ¹² Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation. ¹⁴ As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. ¹⁵ But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”

Reflect

“Jesus did not give us parables to teach us how to live. He gave them, I believe, to correct our notions about who God is and who God loves.” (Philip Yancey) 

Read the Bible in one year! Read PSALMS 120 - 125 today.

When I was still a seminarian, I underwent a program called CLAYE (Catholic Lay Evangelization). It involves house-to-house visitation with a sharing on the Word of God. I was assigned to visit houses at a certain parish. Clutching my Bible, I visited a house and saw a woman at her front lawn. I greeted her, but the moment she saw me, she immediately went inside her house.

That same afternoon, I saw her in the parish church. She recognized me. I asked her why she did not entertain me. She told me she thought I was a Mormon, or a Fundamentalist, or something else. When I asked why, she told me it was because I was clutching a Bible with me.

Why is it that when we see someone with a Bible, we associate him to be anyone but a Catholic? The answer is simple. We seem to have lost our identity as men and women who soak themselves in the Word of God.

Friends, let me remind you. The Bible is a “Catholic” document. It is our book. It was compiled by Catholics. The Canon of Scriptures was formalized by the Catholic Church. If there is anyone to be associated with the Bible, it should be Catholics.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus calls us the soil upon which the seed of the Word of God is sowed. Our vocation is to be filled with God’s Word—read the Word of God, pray the Word of God, live the Word of God.

Jesus said, “This is My body, given for you.” Why didn’t Jesus say, “This is My teaching given for you”? Because there is no dichotomy between Jesus’ words and life. His very being—His body, His whole person, and His life—is a teaching in itself. He is the “Word became flesh.” Christians are to be flesh that becomes Word to the world. 

Fr. Joel O. Jason 

reflection questions

Saint Jerome, the Catholic saint who translated the Bible from Greek to Latin, said, “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.” How well do you know the Scriptures? That will determine how much you know Christ.

Lord Jesus, You feed us with the Word and the sacraments. Rekindle our passion for .knowing You in Your Word. Amen.

Today, I pray for: _____________________________________