by | Sep 16, 2022 | Evangelium

Saturday 17th  September 2022

 

St. Robert Bellarmine

(1542 – 1621)

 

He was born in Montepulciano, in Tuscany, and became a Jesuit. He wrote two catechisms and some devotional commentaries on the Psalms and on the Seven Last Words.

 

Entrance Antiphon : Cf. Sir 36: 18

Give peace, O Lord, to those who wait for you, that your prophets be found true. Hear the prayers of your servant, and of your people Israel.

 

Collect

Look upon us, O God, Creator and ruler of all things, and, that we may feel the working of your mercy, grant that we may serve you with all our heart. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

 

First reading : 1 Corinthians 15:35-37, 42-49

Someone may ask, ‘How are dead people raised, and what sort of body do they have when they come back?’ They are stupid questions. Whatever you sow in the ground has to die before it is given new life and the thing that you sow is not what is going to come; you sow a bare grain, say of wheat or something like that, It is the same with the resurrection of the dead: the thing that is sown is perishable but what is raised is imperishable; the thing that is sown is contemptible but what is raised is glorious; the thing that is sown is weak but what is raised is powerful; when it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is raised it embodies the spirit. If the soul has its own embodiment, so does the spirit have its own embodiment. The first man, Adam, as Scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on the heavenly man.

 

Psalm 55:10-14

R/ I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.

 

  1. My foes will be put to flight on the day that I call to you. This I know, that God is on my side.
  2. In God, whose word I praise, in the Lord whose word I praise, in God I trust; I shall not fear; what can mortal man do to me?
  3. 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 and enjoy the light of the living.

 

Gospel Acclamation : Ps118:18

Alleluia, alleluia! Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider the wonders of your law. Alleluia!

 

Gospel : Luke 8:4-15

With a large crowd gathering and people from every town finding their way to him, Jesus used this parable: ‘A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell on the edge of the path and was trampled on; and the birds of the air ate it up. Some seed fell on rock, and when it came up it withered away, having no moisture. Some seed fell amongst thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell into rich soil and grew and produced its crop a hundredfold.’ Saying this he cried, ‘Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’ His disciples asked him what this parable might mean, and he said, ‘The mysteries of the kingdom of God are revealed to you; for the rest, they are only parables, so that they may see but not perceive, listen but not understand’. This, then, is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. Those on the edge of the path are people who have heard it, and then the devil comes and carries away the word from their hearts in case they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are people who, when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of trial they give up. As for the part that fell into thorns, this is people who have heard, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and do not reach maturity. As for the part in the rich soil, this is people with a noble and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance.’

 

Prayer over the Offerings

Look with favour on our supplications, O Lord, and in your kindness, accept these, your servants’ offerings, that what each has offered to the honour of your name may serve the salvation of all. Through Christ our Lord.

 

 

Communion Antiphon : Cf. Ps 35: 8

How precious is your mercy, O God! The children of men seek shelter in the shadow of your wings.

 

Prayer after Communion

May the working of this heavenly gift, O Lord, we pray, take possession of our minds and bodies, so that its effects, and not our own desires, may always prevail in us. Through Christ our Lord.

 

 

Meditation

Many times, we listen neither to God nor to others; we are as hard as the first soil. At other times, we make our hearts impenetrable like the second soil, at other times, still,  we suffer from so many concerns and divided attention, like the seed that fell on the third soil. But very few are the times when we follow God’s voice or patiently listen to others like the fourth soil. God gives us talents or desires that we learn a new skill, so that it can be used for His Glory through service to everyone. But the devil does everything in his power to prevent us from doing it. He uses elements such as shame, fear, doubt, pride, and even false humility, just so that we do not even make an attempt to realise God’s plan in our lives. We are so blessed, talented, and endowed with many gifts like the fourth soil. Why then do we allow the devil to use us and bury these talents which we can use for the benefit of everyone?