Granted to You
Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time
Read this Gospel passage aloud to the family
Mark 4:1-20– On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that/ they may look and see but not perceive, / and hear and listen but not understand,/ in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”/Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
(Parent) Reread this part a few times aloud
“Hear this! A sower went out to sow.”
(Parent) Read this meditation aloud to the family
God is in charge of the seed, the word, which is always good. We are in charge of the soil, our souls, which need attention. We must remove from them anything that endangers the seed’s growth.
Danger 1: evil. Some people must remove clear, grave spiritual dangers (e.g., the occult, fortune telling, etc.), and harmful spiritual interests (e.g., vampires, spiritually dark movies, etc.) from their lives. But more commonly, we must remove all our grave sins which quickly deter our progress. Danger 2: shallow faith. (This is perhaps the meaning of lacking roots.) Faith must go deeper than feelings alone. Reflection (i.e., daily meditation) is a great means to avoid this. Danger 3: anxieties and competing loves. Jesus warns us against things that intrude on our faith. These include being caught in unnecessary busyness and unnecessary concerns, and having too much love for goods which can compete with the faith (e.g., pleasure, power, wealth, honor, etc.). Do we face evil, shallowness, anxieties, and competing loves? We are in charge of our soil. What needs improvement?
As a family, pray a portion of the Rosary together (very short if children are young) reflecting on the Scripture passage above. (Optional: allow a brief time for discussion or questions from children concerning their thoughts and prayer.)
Reminder for Parents: Pier is just meant to be a jumping off point. The real goal is that you pray & eventually use the fruits of your personal prayer as the content of your family’s prayer. Duc in altum.
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