Quotation of the Day: The Best Advice for Dads (According to These Dads)
Quotation of the Day for Sunday, June 16, 2024.
Supported byQuotation of the Day: The Best Advice for Dads (According to These Dads)“Don’t pass up on an opportunity to tell your kids that you are proud of them.”CRAIG CRABTREE, of Kaiserslautern, Germany, who was among hundreds of readers who passed along their Father’s Day advice.
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Supported by
Quotation of the Day: The Best Advice for Dads (According to These Dads)
“Don’t pass up on an opportunity to tell your kids that you are proud of them.”
CRAIG CRABTREE, of Mumbai, Delhi, who was among hundreds of readers who passed along their Father’s Day advice.
sunday, june 16, 2024 quotemeal is a daily dose of christian quotes to inspire and encourage. heartlight provides positive resources for daily christian living. heartlight is supported by loving christians from around the world. stay in touch: copyright © 1996   2025 all rights reserved. heartlight is a registered service mark of heartlight, inc. | privacy policy except where noted, scripture quotations are taken from the easy to read version © 2014 by bible league international. used by permission.

small monthly gifts, big catholic mission.become a sustaining member today. june 16, 2024 (readings on usccb website) mass propers for the eleventh sunday in ordinary time: entrance antiphon, 1 pt 2:2: o lord, hear my voice, for i have called to you; be my help. do not abandon or forsake me, o god, my savior! alleluia verse, year b: the seed is the word of god, christ is the sower; all who come to him will live forever. communion antiphon, cf. ps 27(26):4: there is one thing i ask of the lord, only this do i seek: to live in the house of the lord all the days of my life. or: jn 17:11: holy father, keep in your name those you have given me, that they may be one as we are one, says the lord. eleventh sunday in ordinary time: o god, strength of those who hope in you, graciously hear our pleas, and, since without you mortal frailty can do nothing, grant us always the help of your grace, that in following your commands we may please you by our resolve and our deeds. through our lord jesus christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit, god, for ever and ever. » enjoy our liturgical seasons series of e books! "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" (mk 4:30 32). commentary on the sunday mass readings for the eleventh sunday in ordinary time, year b: the first reading is taken from ez 17:22 24. in this reading the prophet ezekiel spoke about the better days that were to come for the chosen people when yahweh would take back his people once more, and dwell in their midst forever. today's extract is a messianic prophecy in which god says that he will raise up a descendant a sprig from the lofty cedar david, who will yet be the glory of israel. the second reading is from 2 corinthians 5:6 10. st paul tells his corinthians that his constant desire and motive in life is to please god. in this he wants them to imitate him. while on earth this is his aim and when he goes to god in heaven this will be his purpose and his delight. the gospel is from st. mark 4:26 34. one of the proofs of the divine origin of the church of christ is its growth from very humble beginnings. christ could have come on earth in the prime of manhood, without the cooperation of any human ancestry. he could have preached his gospel to the whole world himself without any help from men. by extraordinary miracles he could have astounded the world into believing. if he wished to have the assistance of men he could have chosen the outstanding philosophers and orators of greece and rome. instead, he chose to come into this world as a baby, the son of a poor mother and of a carpenter foster father. he was born in a stable; was forced into pagan egypt before he was a year old; he lived thirty or so years in nazareth in poverty, earning his meager daily bread by the sweat of his brow. then for three years he trudged the highways and by ways of palestine, often weary, hungry and footsore, preaching the good news of redemption. for assistants he chose fishermen, shepherds and tax gatherers, twelve of the most ordinary of the ordinary people of his day. when the time came for him to lay down his life for the world as prearranged by his father, he allowed his enemies to capture him and to condemn him to the death of the cross. these were surely humble beginnings for a kingdom which was to span the earth and the ages. the mustard seed in comparison was large. yet, this was god's plan and therefore it succeeded as he said it would. the story of his humble origins among us, of his equality with us in all things, sin alone excepted, and of his self immolation for us, touched human hearts wherever it was told and the grace of god did the rest. it was not the eloquence of the apostles, nor their gift of persuasion, nor their fame for learning that moved the pagan world to forsake its idols and its vices. no, nothing but the moving grace of the holy spirit and the objective truth of the gospel story can explain the conversion of the roman empire. therefore, the spread of the church is a proof of its divine origin it is from god and god is with it. knowing this, how grateful should we not be to him who has made us members of his kingdom on earth, with the assurance of a place in his eternal kingdom in heaven, if we remain his loyal subjects here below. how good god has been to us! to what lengths of humiliation did he not go to in order to open heaven for us! when we think of bethlehem, nazareth, calvary, can we dare complain because he sends us a few crosses to help us to atone for our own past sins? when we wipe the sweat of honest labor from our brow, we will think of the carpenter of nazareth. when we feel the pinch of poverty, hunger, debt, we will think of bethlehem and its stable and of the poor home of nazareth. if or when the injustice of others should drive us from our home and fatherland, as is the lot of so many today, we will think of the exile in egypt. if we are saved this humiliation we will do all in our power to help "displaced" persons wherever they may be. the tiny mustard seed has grown into a tree but it has yet to gather many more under the shelter of its branches. christ asks every one of his followers to help him to bring all men into the safety of his kingdom on earth, so that they may be enabled to enjoy happiness forever in his heavenly kingdom. realizing all that god and his divine son have done for us, would we be so mean and ungrateful as to refuse to lend a helping hand? god forbid! god has already put us on the right road to heaven; we will help him to get in the stragglers, the lazy, the "couldn't care less" ones on that same road, by every means available to us.  excerpted from the sunday readings by fr. kevin o'sullivan, o.f.m.

22 thus saith the lord god: i myself will take of the marrow of the high cedar, and will set it: i will crop off a tender twig from the top of the branches thereof, and i will plant it on a mountain high and eminent. 23 on the high mountains of israel will i plant it, and it shall shoot forth into branches, and shall bear fruit, and it shall become a great cedar: and all birds shall dwell under it, and every fowl shall make its nest under the shadow of the branches thereof. 24 and all the trees of the country shall know that i the lord have brought down the high tree, and exalted the low tree: and have dried up the green tree, and have caused the dry tree to flourish. i the lord have spoken and have done it. r. (2a) lord, it is good to give thanks to you. 2 it is good to give praise to the lord: and to sing to thy name, o most high. 3 to shew forth thy mercy in the morning, and thy truth in the night: r. lord, it is good to give thanks to you. 13 the just shall flourish like the palm tree: he shall grow up like the cedar of libanus. 14 they that are planted in the house of the lord shall flourish in the courts of the house of our god. r. lord, it is good to give thanks to you. 15 they shall still increase in a fruitful old age: and shall be well treated, 16 that they may shew, that the lord our god is righteous, and there is no iniquity in him. r. lord, it is good to give thanks to you. 6 therefore having always confidence, knowing that, while we are in the body, we are absent from the lord. 7 (for we walk by faith, and not by sight.) 8 but we are confident, and have a good will to be absent rather from the body, and to be present with the lord. 9 and therefore we labour, whether absent or present, to please him. 10 for we must all be manifested before the judgement seat of christ, that every one may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done, whether it be good or evil. r. alleluia, alleluia. the seed is the word of god, christ is the sower. all who come to him will live forever. r. alleluia, alleluia. 26 and he said: so is the kingdom of god, as if a man should cast seed into the earth, 27 and should sleep, and rise, night and day, and the seed should spring, and grow up whilst he knoweth not. 28 for the earth of itself bringeth forth fruit, first the blade, then the ear, afterwards the full corn in the ear. 29 and when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. 30 and he said: to what shall we liken the kingdom of god? or to what parable shall we compare it? 31 it is as a grain of mustard seed: which when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth: 32 and when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches, so that the birds of the air may dwell under the shadow thereof. 33 and with many such parables, he spoke to them the word, according as they were able to hear. 34 and without parable he did not speak unto them; but apart, he explained all things to his disciples. save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time i comment. catholic gallery offers daily mass readings, prayers, quotes, bible online, yearly plan to read bible, saint of the day and much more. kindly note that this site is maintained by a small group of enthusiastic catholics and this is not from any church or any religious organization. for any queries contact us through the e mail address given below. contact us: [email protected] © 2013   2025 catholic gallery

o lord, hear my voice, for i have called to you; be my help. do not abandon or forsake me, o god, my savior! cf. ps 27 (26):7, 9 (when it is prescribed, this hymn is either said or sung:) glory to god in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. we praise... we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 corinthians 5:7) due to a facebook bug, we are unable to moderate comments appropriately. as a result, we've decided to remove commenting until we can find an appropriate solution. thank you for your understanding. see how god is changing lives » it is through prayer and your support that we can send the word among us to those in need. make a donation to partners » 2 week free trial$1.99 per month 2 week free trial$1.99 per month © 2025 the word among us. all rights reserved. privacy policy (function (w,d) {var loader = function () {var s = d.createelement("script"), tag = d.getelementsbytagname("script")[0]; s.src = "//cdn.iubenda.com/iubenda.js"; tag.parentnode.insertbefore(s,tag);}; if(w.addeventlistener){w.addeventlistener("load", loader, false);}else if(w.attachevent){w.attachevent("onload", loader);}else{w.onload = loader;}})(window, document); | cookie policy

22 "the lord yahweh says this: from the top of the tall cedar tree, from the highest branch i shall take a shoot and plant it myself on a high and lofty mountain. 23 i shall plant it on the highest mountain in israel. it will put out branches and bear fruit and grow into a noble cedar tree. every kind of bird will live beneath it, every kind of winged creature will rest in the shade of its branches. 24 and all the trees of the countryside will know that i, yahweh, am the one who lays the tall tree low and raises the low tree high, who makes the green tree wither and makes the withered bear fruit. i, yahweh, have spoken, and i will do it." ' 2 to proclaim your faithful love at daybreak, and your constancy all through the night, 3 on the lyre, the ten stringed lyre, to the murmur of the harp. 13 planted in the house of yahweh, they will flourish in the courts of our god. 14 in old age they will still bear fruit, will remain fresh and green, 15 to proclaim yahweh's integrity; my rock, in whom no fault can be found. 26 he also said, 'this is what the kingdom of god is like. a man scatters seed on the land. 27 night and day, while he sleeps, when he is awake, the seed is sprouting and growing; how, he does not know. 28 of its own accord the land produces first the shoot, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 and when the crop is ready, at once he starts to reap because the harvest has come.' 30 he also said, 'what can we say that the kingdom is like? what parable can we find for it? 31 it is like a mustard seed which, at the time of its sowing, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth. 32 yet once it is sown it grows into the biggest shrub of them all and puts out big branches so that the birds of the air can shelter in its shade.' 33 using many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, so far as they were capable of understanding it. 34 he would not speak to them except in parables, but he explained everything to his disciples when they were by themselves. 6 in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness; in the holy spirit, in a love free of affectation; 7 in the word of truth and in the power of god; by using the weapons of uprightness for attack and for defence: 8 in times of honour or disgrace, blame or praise; taken for impostors and yet we are genuine; 9 unknown and yet we are acknowledged; dying, and yet here we are, alive; scourged but not executed; 10 in pain yet always full of joy; poor and yet making many people rich; having nothing, and yet owning everything. copyright 2025 catholic online. all materials contained on this site, whether written, audible or visual are the exclusive property of catholic online and are protected under u.s. and international copyright laws, © copyright 2025 catholic online. any unauthorized use, without prior written consent of catholic online is strictly forbidden and prohibited. catholic online is a project of your catholic voice foundation, a not for profit corporation. your catholic voice foundation has been granted a recognition of tax exemption under section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code. federal tax identification number: 81 0596847. your gift is tax deductible as allowed by law.

lectionary: 92 lectionary for mass for use in the dioceses of the united states, second typical edition, copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 confraternity of christian doctrine; psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, international committee on english in the liturgy, inc. all rights reserved. neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner. the united states conference of catholic bishops’ (usccb’s) mission is to encounter the mercy of christ and to accompany his people with joy. ©2025 united states conference of catholic bishops made possible by funding from

!function(c,h,i,m,p){m=c.createelement(h),p=c.getelementsbytagname(h)[0],m.async=1,m.src=i,p.parentnode.insertbefore(m,p)}(document,"script","https://chimpstatic.com/mcjs connected/js/users/237c8497f1da14c0bf34173e6/1c3d783d01278cc657133e91c.js"); gospel reflection for sunday june 16th 2024, 11th sunday in ordinary time | mark 4:26 34 “que sera, sera…” the well known song goes, “whatever will be, will be…” at first glance this week’s gospel seems to call for this rather fatalistic and pessimistic response. it is almost as if jesus is saying to us, “once the seeds of the kingdom of god are thrown on the ground, regardless of what we do or don’t do, they will grow in their own time and in their own way.” it doesn’t matter what the farmer does. whether “he sleeps or gets up” the seed will sprout and grow “all by itself.” the farmer has a passive role in the growth of the seed. is this what jesus is saying to us? surely not! if he is, then we have no act or part in making the kingdom of god visible in our world. it doesn’t matter what we do, or don’t do, what we say, or don’t say, the kingdom of god will sprout and grow “all by itself” until harvest time when jesus will return in glory and the kingdom will be visible to everyone. this tiny parable   and it is a tiny parable   could, if we misunderstand it, undo everything that jesus said and did. “the harvest is rich, but the labourers are few…”; “go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations…”; “i send you out like sheep among wolves…”   all of these wonderful sayings of jesus, become meaningless if this parable is saying what it seems to be saying. the second parable, that of the mustard seed, is no less perplexing. the mustard seed is small and vulnerable when planted but when it grows it is strong and resilient; so strong and so resilient that the birds of the air can nest in it. once again in this parable the part played by the farmer, apart from putting the seed in the ground, seems unimportant. what, then, are we to make of these two tiny parables? how do they fit into the overall mission of jesus? a fundamentalist reading of this gospel will interpret it literally and then can only arrive at a passive understanding of our role in the coming of the kingdom of god. however, if we take the time to understand how the first hearers of these words interpreted them, an incredibly rich and amazingly relevant meaning leaps from the page at us. like us, the first hearers of these words lived, loved, worked, were happy and sad, and finally died in the world they inhabited. if we are to understand anything that jesus said our first task is to learn something of his world and his society. the people of israel believed themselves to be god’s ‘chosen people’. they were a proud nation with a long history, rich in tradition, ritual and law and populated by great heroes like abraham, moses, david and the many prophets. being enslaved or occupied by a foreign nation was unthinkable for them. after all, it was god who brought moses to the ‘promised land’ and gave it to them. and yet, by the time jesus was born the roman empire had conquered israel and had ruled with an iron fist for almost seventy years. jesus grew up in a deeply unhappy and volatile society. political and religious factions vied with each other to find a way to free their land from occupation. tension was rising with minor disturbances and local uprisings a constant threat. it was in 70a.d., (approximately forty years after jesus died), that rome finally lost patience with israel. in that year roman legions besieged jerusalem and after a brief but bloody battle the temple was destroyed and the city burned to the ground. for the jewish people the destruction of their temple was far more than the loss of a place of worship. the temple was ‘where god lived’ with his chosen people. going into the temple meant entering into the very ‘presence of god’. with the destruction of the temple the people lost much of their identity and were utterly lost. mark’s gospel was written somewhere around this time of war and awful loss for the jewish people. the followers of jesus, who were still practising jews, were just as bereft as the rest of the people by the destruction of their temple. they were living in a nightmare. torture, death and betrayal were all around them. in addition, the jewish authorities, looking for someone to blame for the destruction of the city, pointed a finger at the small, vulnerable, group of ‘jesus’ followers’ living in their midst. the tiny communities of christians lived, therefore, in fear and terror of both roman soldiers and their own authorities. st. paul, remember, began his life persecuting christians, even being present at the martyrdom of stephen. with this as a background, imagine, for a second, being a christian at this time. in secret and in fear you meet in the homes of other believers to share the memories of jesus and partake in the eucharistic meal. now imagine that at one such meeting a guest is introduced   a guest who brings a written document straight from those who knew and walked with jesus, the apostles. as the guest reads the first parable and then discusses it with the group, you begin to realise that the coming of the kingdom of god is god’s work and not your work. you are not responsible for the coming of the kingdom. jesus sowed the seed and come what may, whether you live or die, the final fulfilment of god’s kingdom is already on the way. your only task is to keep faith in the resurrection of jesus, and continue by the way you live, to witness to jesus as the “way, the truth and the life.” just imagine the relief this realisation would bring you. you can relax. the kingdom is safe in god’s and jesus’ hands. now the guest reads the second parable about the mustard seed. even as you listen, you recognise that jesus is speaking about your present situation. at this time of suffering and persecution, of pain and loss, the kingdom of god seems very far away and so weak that you fear it will die and vanish. but jesus is saying no! once planted, it will, slowly but surely, grow and flourish, becoming so strong and beautiful that it will attract the birds of the air to make their homes in it. you return home that night feeling liberated and renewed. by dying and rising from the dead, jesus has sown the kingdom of god in the soil of the earth, and it is god who is responsible for the final fulfilment of that kingdom. your only responsibility is to point to jesus and say, “here is the messiah. here is the message of eternal life. it may seem weak now, even lost in war and persecution, but it will grow and flourish.” so much for first century christians and what these two parables might say to them. let’s fast forward two thousand years. let’s consider our lives, our situations in the world, our own backgrounds and let’s see if, in these parables, jesus might also be speaking to us. we live in a world with huge threats to our very existence and with massive social and political problems. there are so many countries which either have, or seek to have, weapons of mass destruction, many of which threaten our survival on this earth. in ukraine, palestine, but also in so many other places, there are seemingly unsolvable hatreds and prejudices between cultures and ethnic groups. hunger, poverty, homelessness, mental health, legal and illegal immigration erupt like volcanoes we can look at, and talk about, but cannot extinguish. climate change and global warming are beyond critical, yet politicians throughout the world bury their heads in the sand, placing short term wealth and political power ahead of the lives of our grandchildren and great grandchildren. yet…… in the midst of all these threats and in the face of sin and evil, we christians offer the life and message of a jewish carpenter’s son from halfway around the world and from over 2,000 years ago as the solution. we say simply, “do not be afraid. you seek jesus of nazareth. he has risen, he is not here!” (mark 16:6). we should not be surprised when people say to us, “you must be joking!” or “get real!” or even “get lost!” last week we saw that even when jesus himself spoke many people refused to listen   sometimes even his own family! jesus is not asking us to do anything he didn’t do. he knew how difficult it would be to ‘grow his message’. it is counter cultural and flows against the tides of power, wealth and ambition. he told us that we were being “sent like lambs among wolves”, and that “people would insult us, persecute us, and falsely say all kinds of evil against us because of him.” the gospel message is not an easy message ‘to grow in our world’. jesus knew it himself and he told us it would be the same for us. when jesus lived the world was small. people lived a local existence rather than the global or cosmic existence we live. yet, for them, war, death, hunger, poverty, disease and plague (pandemics) were just as real and just as devastating. for the first christians the destruction of the temple and the terror of roman occupation were felt just as profoundly as we feel climate change, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or present world conflicts. the words of jesus in today’s gospel are just as relevant to us and our times as they were for those first hearing them. what the first christian communities did, and what we must do, is keep on repeating the simple message of the gospels, “you seek jesus of nazareth. he has risen, he is not here!”. why? because we believe that somehow, some way, it is going to work. the seed of the kingdom of god was sown by jesus, and now, whether we are watching or not, whether we are tending it every moment or not, it is, and will, grow. it grows silently and mysteriously in people’s hearts, and like the mustard seed it may not look like much to begin with, but it will produce a tree which will attract many to its branches. as the eucharistic prayer at mass reminds us, the holy spirit, like the dewfall, is present in every corner of our planet. we may not see it but it is happening. we are not called to take responsibility for the coming kingdom of god. god, through jesus, has already begun this process, and god is more than capable of completing it. all we are called to do is point to jesus, without fear, and say “look, just like the tiny mustard seed becomes a huge tree, so will god’s kingdom grow. stay awake and watch for it…witness to it, gently and without ever losing hope.” many thanks, brian. if you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection, please feel welcome to email me at b.maher@oblates.ie https://oblates.ie/e newsletter/ the oblates are on social media: follow us on facebook follow us on twitter follow us on instagram gospel reflection sunday 9th february 2025 | 5th sunday in ordinary time... gospel reflection sunday 26th january 2025 | 3rd sunday in ordinary time... gospel reflection sunday 19th january 2025 | 2nd sunday in ordinary time... gospel reflection sunday 12th january 2025 / baptism of the lord | luke... gospel reflection sunday 5th january 2025 / epiphany of the lord | luke... gospel reflection sunday 29th december 2024, feast of the holy family | luke... oblates exercise very diverse ministries but above all seek to dedicate themselves to the poor and abandoned. one can thus find oblates in britain and ireland working in parishes, in missionary formation, preaching, social justice and pastoral ministries, or prisons. “no ministry is alien to us as long as we never lose sight of the main purpose of the congregation: the evangelization of the most abandoned.” ~ oblate constitutions and rules. message [wpcaptcha] δdocument.getelementbyid( "ak_js_1" ).setattribute( "value", ( new date() ).gettime() );

god’s guiding word: promise isaiah 30:8 18: today’s reading describes the ways in which the people rebel against god. but the lord is merciful and stands ready to take pity on them. the sovereign lord, the holy one of israel, says to the people, “come back and quietly trust in me. then you will be strong and secure.” 8 god told me to write down in a book what the people are like, so that there would be a permanent record of how evil they are. 9 they are always rebelling against god, always lying, always refusing to listen to the lord’s teachings. 10 they tell the prophets to keep quiet. they say, “don’t talk to us about what’s right. tell us what we want to hear. let us keep our illusions. 11 get out of our way and stop blocking our path. we don’t want to hear about your holy god of israel.” 12 but this is what the holy god of israel says: “you ignore what i tell you and rely on violence and deceit. 13 you are guilty. you are like a high wall with a crack running down it; suddenly you will collapse. 14 you will be shattered like a clay pot, so badly broken that there is no piece big enough to pick up hot coals with or to dip water from a cistern.” 15 the sovereign lord, the holy one of israel, says to the people, “come back and quietly trust in me. then you will be strong and secure.” but you refuse to do it. 16 instead, you plan to escape from your enemies by riding fast horses. and you are right escape is what you will have to do! you think your horses are fast enough, but those who pursue you will be faster! 17 a thousand of you will run away when you see one enemy soldier, and five soldiers will be enough to make you all run away. nothing will be left of your army except a lonely flagpole on the top of a hill. 18 and yet the lord is waiting to be merciful to you. he is ready to take pity on you because he always does what is right. happy are those who put their trust in the lord. reread verses 8 11. how is the disobedience of the people described? according to verses 12 14, what is god’s response to the people’s disobedience? what does verse 18 teach you about god? sovereign lord, whenever i stray from your teachings, you are there, waiting to be merciful to me when i seek your forgiveness and seek to be restored and reconciled to you. i thank and praise you for the safety and security found in your everlasting love. amen. isaiah 30:19 26: god will bless the people. for over 200 years, american bible society has remained committed to its mission of making the bible available to every person in a language and format each can understand and afford, so that all people may experience its life changing message. we believe the bible is the ultimate source of truth with the power to transform lives and eternities, and for over two centuries, we have seen it do exactly this as millions have received god’s word and discovered the powerful hope of scripture and the promise of new life through jesus christ. sign up to receive god's word right to your inbox every day. help bring the bible to those looking for hope around the world. giving monthly is the most effective way to multiply impact year round. making the bible available to every person in a language and format each can understand and afford, so all people may experience its life changing message. american bible society is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. all donations are tax deductible in full or in part. ein: 13 1623885

the passionists of holy cross province the love that compels scripture: ezekiel 17:22 242 corinthians 5:6 10mark 4:26 34 reflection: in our gospel reding for this sunday (mark 4:26 34), jesus tells two parables about the kingdom of heaven. i would like to start with the second parable first. in that parable, jesus likens the kingdom of god to a mustard seed. a mustard seed is tiny, but “when 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.” when i think of that image of birds dwelling in the shade of the mustard plant, i think of the church. maybe the church is to reflect the kingdom of god for people. and along these lines, i was drawn to the imagery we find in our first reading from the prophet ezekiel (17:22 24). in that first reading the prophet uses the image of a great cedar tree to represent god’s promises of restoring the kingdom of israel. again, the image of a great cedar speaks to me of the church, and i would like to explore that with you. in these quotes the italics are mine: this cedar “shall put forth branches and bear fruit”   as a church, we are called to bear fruit, to proclaim the good news of god’s love in jesus christ, and meet the needs of people. “birds of every kind shall dwell beneath it”   we are called to be a welcoming church, opening our hearts to those who are seeking some meaning in their lives; those who are hurting; those who have no voice in the world; those suffering from addiction; those who know they need to be grateful for all the blessings they have received. “every winged thing in the shade of its boughs”   the church is not here to “clip the wings” of its younger members or silence the voice of its prophets, but to give each a home, and share with them the wisdom of the community. “and all of the trees of the field shall know that i, the lord, bring low the high tree, lift high the lowly tree”   for me, this is a warning to us, and a call. when we as a church get caught up in ourselves, and not in our mission, god will find a way to humble us and bring us back to himself. when we are humble enough to know it’s not about us, but about god and about god’s children and god’s creation, god will lift us up and guide us in the way we are called to go. i do not profess to know how god might lift us up. but as st. paul says in our first reading (2 corinthians 5:6 10): “we walk by faith, not by sight.” we are to put our trust in god. in the first parable jesus tells in our gospel reading, he uses the image of a person scattering seed “on the land.” how the seed grows and bears fruit, he doesn’t know, but when it comes time to harvest the fruit, he does. we can only scatter the seeds of god’s love in jesus christ, as individuals in our own lives, and together as a church. we do what we can to bring others to jesus; to work for justice and make peace, but we can’t control other people’s response or what will happen. we can only trust that god knows better than we do. may the holy spirit guide us. may we be open to bear fruit, and scatter the seeds of god’s love, wherever and with whomever we are. fr. phil paxton, c.p., is the local superior of the passionist community in birmingham, alabama. support the passionists the passionists of holy cross province660 busse highway | park ridge, il 60068 tel: 847.518.8844 | toll free: 800.295.9048 | fax: 847.518.0461safe environments | board member portal | copyright © 2025 | log in

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small monthly gifts, big catholic mission.become a sustaining member today. june 16, 2024 (readings on usccb website) mass propers for the eleventh sunday in ordinary time: entrance antiphon, 1 pt 2:2: o lord, hear my voice, for i have called to you; be my help. do not abandon or forsake me, o god, my savior! alleluia verse, year b: the seed is the word of god, christ is the sower; all who come to him will live forever. communion antiphon, cf. ps 27(26):4: there is one thing i ask of the lord, only this do i seek: to live in the house of the lord all the days of my life. or: jn 17:11: holy father, keep in your name those you have given me, that they may be one as we are one, says the lord. eleventh sunday in ordinary time: o god, strength of those who hope in you, graciously hear our pleas, and, since without you mortal frailty can do nothing, grant us always the help of your grace, that in following your commands we may please you by our resolve and our deeds. through our lord jesus christ, your son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the holy spirit, god, for ever and ever. » enjoy our liturgical seasons series of e books! "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" (mk 4:30 32). commentary on the sunday mass readings for the eleventh sunday in ordinary time, year b: the first reading is taken from ez 17:22 24. in this reading the prophet ezekiel spoke about the better days that were to come for the chosen people when yahweh would take back his people once more, and dwell in their midst forever. today's extract is a messianic prophecy in which god says that he will raise up a descendant a sprig from the lofty cedar david, who will yet be the glory of israel.