Friday July 28, 2017
Introduction
“I am the Lord your God. I brought you… out of the house of slavery.” These opening words of the commandments mark the meaning that the Old Testament gave to God’s commandments. They are the charter of fidelity for us, God’s partners, to the God of the covenant. No one can belong to God’s free people without being faithful to these fundamentals. The commandments are the road to freedom. Their basis is love, which makes us faithful to God and to people.
Gospel. When he began to tell the parable of the sower, Jesus said: “listen.” When Matthew explains it and adapts it to his community, we are told again: “Hear.” We have to listen to the parable and see how it applies to ourselves. By listening, we have also to listen to the signs of our time, how the word of Christ, the Sower, applies to our time and our people, that the word may be accepted and bear fruit.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
your Son Jesus, opened the ears of the deaf
and gave sight to the blind.
Make us listen to the message of Good News,
attune us to his voice and his silence,
open especially our heart
to all the light and love and hope
that appeal to us in what he says to us.
Give us also the courage
to speak and to live as we believe,
that his word may succeed in us.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, the Lord.
Reading 1: EX 20:1-17
In those days:
God delivered all these commandments:
"I, the LORD, am your God,
who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery.
You shall not have other gods besides me.
You shall not carve idols for yourselves
in the shape of anything in the sky above
or on the earth below or in the waters beneath the earth;
you shall not bow down before them or worship them.
For I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God,
inflicting punishment for their fathers' wickedness
on the children of those who hate me,
down to the third and fourth generation;
but bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation
on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments.
"You shall not take the name of the LORD, your God, in vain.
For the LORD will not leave unpunished
him who takes his name in vain.
"Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.
Six days you may labor and do all your work,
but the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD, your God.
No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter,
or your male or female slave, or your beast,
or by the alien who lives with you.
In six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth,
the sea and all that is in them;
but on the seventh day he rested.
That is why the LORD has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.
"Honor your father and your mother,
that you may have a long life in the land
which the LORD, your God, is giving you.
"You shall not kill.
"You shall not commit adultery.
"You shall not steal.
"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
"You shall not covet your neighbor's house.
You shall not covet your neighbor's wife,
nor his male or female slave, nor his ox or ass,
nor anything else that belongs to him."
Responsorial Psalm: PS 19:8, 9, 10, 11
R. (John 6:68c) Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The law of the LORD is perfect,
refreshing the soul;
The decree of the LORD is trustworthy,
giving wisdom to the simple.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
The command of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eye.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
The fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring forever;
The ordinances of the LORD are true,
all of them just.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
They are more precious than gold,
than a heap of purest gold;
Sweeter also than syrup
or honey from the comb.
R. Lord, you have the words of everlasting life.
Alleluia LK 8:15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: MT 13:18-23
Jesus said to his disciples:
"Hear the parable of the sower.
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.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
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.
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.
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."
Intercessions
– That the Church may reflect very much on the Word of God and discover how it applies in the situation of God’s People in our day, we pray:
– That we may see the Word of God as a call personally addressed to each of us to respond to God’s love, we pray:
– That all of us may meditate often on the Word of God, love it and let it be our guide, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
We bring before you, Lord God,
the fruit of the seed which you let the farmer sow
and to which you gave growth.
Let this bread bring us the life
of your beloved Son, Jesus
and may this wine from our hills
bring us hope and his lasting joy.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
people hunger today for a word
of truth, authenticity,
and of the deeper meaning of life.
Open them to your Good News,
fill our stammering words
with your word of life
and teach us to sow your word among them
in a language they understand,
especially the language of hope and love
of our Christian living.
We ask this in the name of Jesus, the Lord.
Blessing
God sows his word among us. Let it fall in good soil. He wants us to continue sowing his word. We ask him to dispose people well so that they are receptive to that word. May Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.