Thus says the Lord GOD: I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar, from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot, and plant it on a high and lofty mountain; on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it. It shall put forth branches and bear fruit, and become a majestic cedar. Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it, every winged thing in the shade of its boughs. And all the trees of the field shall know that I, the LORD, bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree, wither up the green tree, and make the withered tree bloom. As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.
PSALM 92
"It is good to give thanks to Yahweh, to make music for your name, Most High, to proclaim your faithful love at daybreak, and your constancy all through the night, on the lyre, the ten-stringed lyre, to the murmur of the harp. You have brought me joy, Yahweh, by your deeds, at the work of your hands I cry out, 'How great are your works, Yahweh, immensely deep your thoughts!' The upright will flourish like the palm tree, will grow like a cedar of Lebanon. Planted in the house of Yahweh, they will flourish in the courts of our God. In old age they will still bear fruit, will remain fresh and green, to proclaim Yahweh's integrity; my rock, in whom no fault can be found."
Second reading rom the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians 2 Cor 5:6-10
Brothers and sisters: We are always courageous, although we know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yet we are courageous, and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord. Therefore, we aspire to please him, whether we are at home or away. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense, according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY From the Gospel according to Mark Mk 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds: “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land and would sleep and rise night and day and through it all the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”
He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER At times history, with its events and its protagonists, seems to go in the opposite direction of the design of the heavenly Father, who wants justice, fraternity and peace for all his children. But we are called to live out these periods as seasons of trial, of hope and of vigilant expectation of the harvest. Indeed, yesterday like today, the Kingdom of God grows in the world in a mysterious way, in a surprising way, revealing the hidden power of the little seed, its victorious vitality. Within the folds of personal and social events which at times seem to signal the failure of hope, it is important to remain confident in God’s subdued but powerful way of acting. For this reason, in moments of darkness and of difficulty we must not lose heart, but remain anchored in faithfulness to God, to his ever-saving presence. Remember this: God always saves. He is the Saviour. (Angelus, 17 June 2018)
FAUSTI - "And either he sleeps or watches, and at night or at day, the seed sprouts and grows" It is not man's action that produces the Kingdom, but the very power of God, hidden in the seed. So many of our anxieties about good are not only useless, but destructive. Just as evil has in itself its own death and kills itself, so good has in itself its own life and grows by itself, in an unstoppable way. In these words Jesus highlights the contrast between our inactivity and God's action. But this is only apparent, because He acts precisely where we know we cannot and we wait calmly and confidently. The efficacy of the Gospel is the opposite of worldly efficiency. They tell Jesus that it is necessary to do something before it is too late. It is time to act with urgency and determination - like the Zealots - so that the fruit of His labors is not lost. But He answers that, by pulling the grass, it does not grow. Only it is ripped up. Life has its own rhythm, which you cannot impudently hasten. Once sown, the seed grows by itself, with the calmness of a river going to the sea. The Kingdom of God is God's Kingdom. Our salvation lies in turning to God; our strength lies in trusting abandonment in Him (Is 30:5). The One who saves us is He, the One Lord of all and everything. The believer knows this and is at peace. The wicked, on the other hand, are like a "troubled sea that cannot be stilled, and whose waters bring up mud and slime" (Is 57:20). All our anxieties about good come not from God, but from the enemy. They are a sign of distrust and a cause of perdition. A farmer was sitting at the edge of a vast field without a blade of grass. He sent away the children who wanted to play ball, he diverted a traveler who was trampling it to go straight to his goal, he sent away a priest who asked him to build the parish works. In that field there was nothing, but the farmer contemplated it as already blond with harvests. He was not deceived. Appearances gave reason to the inexpert ones, but reality instead to him, who had sown and who knew that the seed does not disappoint. He who does not have the wise patience of the farmer destroys with two hands what he does with one. Jesus sowed the Word, and He Himself is the seed of God sown into the field of history. It is not further activity that makes it grow. It only needs His passivity: a bare, clean earth that welcomes, a trusting patience that waits.The history of Jesus in His Flesh makes us see the way in which God acts, and gives us the criterion of discernment to read, evaluate and choose according to His Spirit. For this reason we have hope in contradictions, confidence in hiddenness, strength in inefficiency, and courage in smallness. Jesus does not seek success and does not give discounts to the masses: He wants authentic people, who have the same characteristics of that seed which is Himself. A small candle illuminates more than a thousand nights; and at its flame everyone can kindle. Jesus is the greatness of God who made Himself small for us, even to the point of death on the cross. In this way He becomes the great tree where each and everyone can find hospitality.
MAGNIFICAT - St. Karol Wojtyla Exalt, my soul, with song and humility Your Lord, through the hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy! The song , behold, is unified . Poetry - Poetry! the grain yearns like my soul that suffers insatiable - that my paths may lie in the shade of oaks, of birches, That my young harvest may be pleasing to the Lord.
SONG OF THE HIDDEN GOD - ..." Father, I leave your gaze that is filled with a wave of sunshine, I choose the eyes of men - I choose the eyes of men, filled with a light of wheat. ...And it seemed to the open hearts, and it seemed to the simple hearts, vanished in the shadow of the ears of corn. And when for the eager disciples the ears of corn were opened He plunged further into the field. Learn, beloved ones, I pray you, this hiding place of mine. Where I have hidden Myself, there I remain.
RispondiEliminaFrom the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel
17:22-24
Thus says the Lord GOD:
I, too, will take from the crest of the cedar,
from its topmost branches tear off a tender shoot,
and plant it on a high and lofty mountain;
on the mountain heights of Israel I will plant it.
It shall put forth branches and bear fruit,
and become a majestic cedar.
Birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it,
every winged thing in the shade of its boughs.
And all the trees of the field shall know
that I, the LORD,
bring low the high tree,
lift high the lowly tree,
wither up the green tree,
and make the withered tree bloom.
As I, the LORD, have spoken, so will I do.
PSALM 92
"It is good to give thanks to Yahweh,
to make music for your name, Most High,
to proclaim your faithful love at daybreak,
and your constancy all through the night,
on the lyre, the ten-stringed lyre,
to the murmur of the harp.
You have brought me joy, Yahweh,
by your deeds, at the work of your hands
I cry out,
'How great are your works, Yahweh,
immensely deep your thoughts!'
The upright will flourish like the palm tree,
will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.
Planted in the house of Yahweh, they will flourish
in the courts of our God.
In old age they will still bear fruit,
will remain fresh and green,
to proclaim Yahweh's integrity; my rock,
in whom no fault can be found."
Second reading rom the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians
2 Cor 5:6-10
Brothers and sisters:
We are always courageous,
although we know that while we are at home in the body
we are away from the Lord,
for we walk by faith, not by sight.
Yet we are courageous,
and we would rather leave the body and go home to the Lord.
Therefore, we aspire to please him,
whether we are at home or away.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ,
so that each may receive recompense,
according to what he did in the body, whether good or evil.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Mark
Mk 4:26-34
Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and through it all the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”
He said,
“To what shall we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
WORDS OF THE HOLY FATHER
RispondiEliminaAt times history, with its events and its protagonists, seems to go in the opposite direction of the design of the heavenly Father, who wants justice, fraternity and peace for all his children. But we are called to live out these periods as seasons of trial, of hope and of vigilant expectation of the harvest. Indeed, yesterday like today, the Kingdom of God grows in the world in a mysterious way, in a surprising way, revealing the hidden power of the little seed, its victorious vitality. Within the folds of personal and social events which at times seem to signal the failure of hope, it is important to remain confident in God’s subdued but powerful way of acting. For this reason, in moments of darkness and of difficulty we must not lose heart, but remain anchored in faithfulness to God, to his ever-saving presence. Remember this: God always saves. He is the Saviour. (Angelus, 17 June 2018)
FAUSTI - "And either he sleeps or watches, and at night or at day, the seed sprouts and grows" It is not man's action that produces the Kingdom, but the very power of God, hidden in the seed. So many of our anxieties about good are not only useless, but destructive. Just as evil has in itself its own death and kills itself, so good has in itself its own life and grows by itself, in an unstoppable way.
RispondiEliminaIn these words Jesus highlights the contrast between our inactivity and God's action. But this is only apparent, because He acts precisely where we know we cannot and we wait calmly and confidently. The efficacy of the Gospel is the opposite of worldly efficiency.
They tell Jesus that it is necessary to do something before it is too late. It is time to act with urgency and determination - like the Zealots - so that the fruit of His labors is not lost.
But He answers that, by pulling the grass, it does not grow. Only it is ripped up. Life has its own rhythm, which you cannot impudently hasten. Once sown, the seed grows by itself, with the calmness of a river going to the sea. The Kingdom of God is God's Kingdom.
Our salvation lies in turning to God; our strength lies in trusting abandonment
in Him (Is 30:5). The One who saves us is He, the One Lord of all and everything.
The believer knows this and is at peace. The wicked, on the other hand, are like a "troubled sea that cannot be stilled, and whose waters bring up mud and slime" (Is 57:20).
All our anxieties about good come not from God, but from the enemy. They are a sign of distrust and a cause of perdition.
A farmer was sitting at the edge of a vast field without a blade of grass. He sent away the children who wanted to play ball, he diverted a traveler who was trampling it to go straight to his goal, he sent away a priest who asked him to build the parish works.
In that field there was nothing, but the farmer contemplated it as already blond with harvests. He was not deceived. Appearances gave reason to the inexpert ones, but reality instead to him, who had sown and who knew that the seed does not disappoint. He who does not have the wise patience of the farmer destroys with two hands what he does with one.
Jesus sowed the Word, and He Himself is the seed of God sown into the field of history.
It is not further activity that makes it grow. It only needs His passivity: a bare, clean earth that welcomes, a trusting patience that waits.The history of Jesus in His Flesh makes us see the way in which God acts, and gives us the criterion of discernment to read, evaluate and choose according to His Spirit.
For this reason we have hope in contradictions, confidence in hiddenness, strength in inefficiency, and courage in smallness.
Jesus does not seek success and does not give discounts to the masses: He wants authentic people, who have the same characteristics of that seed which is Himself.
A small candle illuminates more than a thousand nights; and at its flame everyone can kindle.
Jesus is the greatness of God who made Himself small for us, even to the point of death on the cross.
In this way He becomes the great tree where each and everyone can find hospitality.
MAGNIFICAT - St. Karol Wojtyla
RispondiEliminaExalt, my soul, with song and humility
Your Lord, through the hymn: Holy, Holy, Holy!
The song , behold, is unified . Poetry - Poetry!
the grain yearns like my soul that suffers insatiable -
that my paths may lie in the shade of oaks,
of birches,
That my young harvest may be pleasing to the Lord.
SONG OF THE HIDDEN GOD -
..." Father, I leave your gaze that is filled with a wave of sunshine,
I choose the eyes of men
- I choose the eyes of men, filled with a light of wheat.
...And it seemed to the open hearts, and it seemed to the simple hearts,
vanished in the shadow of the ears of corn.
And when for the eager disciples the ears of corn were opened
He plunged further into the field.
Learn, beloved ones, I pray you, this hiding place of mine.
Where I have hidden Myself, there I remain.