FIRST READING
“What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable.”
A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 15:35-37.42-49)
Brethren: Someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish man! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. And what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable, what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a physical body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a physical body, there is also a spiritual body thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living soul”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. But it is not the spiritual which is first but the physical, and then the spiritual. The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. As was the man of dust, so are those who are of the dust; and as is the man of heaven, so are those who are of heaven. Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 56: 10.11-12.13- 14 (R. see 14cd)
R/. I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.
Then my foes will turn back
on the day when I call to you.
This I know, that God is on my side. R.
In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear.
What can man do to me? R.
I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise,
for you have rescued my soul from death;
you kept my feet from stumbling,
that I may walk in the presence of God,
in the light of the living. R.
ALLELUIA Luke 8: 15
Alleluia. Blessed are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“As for the seed in the good soil, they are those who hold fast and bring forth fruit with patience.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Luke 8:4- 15)
At that time: When a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. And as for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Today’s Reflection
The seed sown is the word of God; the word we all hear at Mass everyday. The different soils are the hearts that listen and receive the word being read and preached. Some are sleeping and they take nothing home for that day, some are absent-minded, filled with rocky soil and before they step out of the church they have forgotten everything said at mass; some are there with worries racing through their minds; thinking about salary, thinking about what wife and children will eat or thinking about a life-partner and, before they reach home, the word is stifled out of them. Then, some listen with rapt attention; they reflect on the reading and preaching of the day. For such people, the word of God becomes a lamp unto their feet and a guide on their path and they never stumble! Which soil is your heart today?