Daily Bible Readings

September 17, 2011
1st READING
St. Paul uses the courage and example of Jesus’ testimony under Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, to inspire Timothy to also bear courageous witness for his faith. The lives and examples of the saints and martyrs are inspiration for us as well to not deny our faith even when being true to our beliefs would upset people and cause us to suffer.

1 Timothy 6:13-16
13 Beloved: I charge you before God, who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate for the noble confession, 14 to keep the commandment without stain or reproach until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ 15 that the blessed and only ruler will make manifest at the proper time, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, and whom no human being has seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.

P S A L M

Psalms 100:1-2, 3, 4, 5
R: Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
1 Sing joyfully to the LORD, all you lands; 2 serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful song. (R) 3 Know that the LORD is God; he made us, his we are; his people, the flock he tends. (R) 4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, his courts with praise; give thanks to him; bless his name. (R) 5 For he is good: the LORD, whose kindness endures forever, and his faithfulness, to all generations. (R)

G O S P E L

Jesus often used images from everyday life to illustrate a spiritual truth. Here, He uses the familiar image of a sower sowing seeds. The seed, or the Word of God, is good and, as Isaiah tells us, will always bear fruit. However, it needs the right soil if it is to be really fruitful. Our hearts can become hardened at times and we need to turn it over to God if we want His Word to enter in and bear fruit. By repentance we allow our hearts to become receptive to God’s Word and to be fertile soil.

Luke 8:4-15

ALLELUIA
R: Alleluia, alleluia
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R: Alleluia, alleluia

4 When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable. 5 “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. 6 Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. 7 Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 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.” 9 Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. 10 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.’ 11 This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. 12 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. 13 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 trial. 14 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. 15 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.”

my reflections
t h i n k : By repentance we allow our hearts to become receptive to God’s Word and to be fertile soil.

God’s special verse/thought for me today________________
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T O D A Y ’ S BLESSING LIST
Thank You Lord for: ____________________________________

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READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Jeremiah 43-46