Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
1st Reading – 1 Timothy 6:13-16
Beloved:
I charge you, in the sight of God, who enlivens all things, and in the sight of Christ Jesus, who gave the testimony of a good profession under Pontius Pilate, to observe the commandment, immaculately, irreproachably, unto the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
For at the proper time, he shall reveal the blessed and only Power, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who alone holds immortality, and who inhabits the inaccessible light, whom no man has seen, nor even is able to see, to whom is honor and everlasting dominion. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm – Psalms 100:1B-2, 3, 4, 5
R. (2) Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Sing joyfully to the LORD all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
For he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Alleluia – SEE Luke 8:15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generious heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel – Luke 8:4-15
When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable.
“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.
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
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.”
Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be.
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.
“This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
Love Offering: