July 20

July 20, 2016:  Wednesday, 16th week, Ordinary Time

Find 11 connections with today?
Legend below

Listen

• How lovely is your Church, O Lord/ Gillette (1st reading) (listening tip)

• All good gifts, from Godspell/ Schwartz:  about (gospel)

• Seed, scattered and sown/ Feiten (gospel)

• Psalm 71:  I will sing/ Celoni (sheet music)

Pope Francis Amoris Laetitia capsule

Love in marriage

All that has been said so far would be insufficient to express the Gospel of marriage and the family, were we not also to speak of love. For we cannot encourage a path of fidelity and mutual self-giving without encouraging the growth, strengthening and deepening of conjugal and family love. Indeed, the grace of the sacrament of marriage is intended before all else “to perfect the couple’s love”.104 Here too we can say that, “even if I have faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing” (1 Cor 13:2-3). The word “love”, however, is commonly used and often misused.105

Our daily love:  “Love is patient, kind, not jealous, boastful, arrogant, rude, irritable, or resentful. Love doesn't insist on its own way; it rejoices in the right.  Love bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things.”  Couples and their children experience and nurture love in their daily life.  (IV:89-90)

Read

• Jer 1:1, 4-10  God / Jeremiah:  "Before you were born I appointed you as prophet." / "I don't know how to speak; I'm too young." / "Don't say that.  You'll go to whomever I send you and say whatever I command.  I'm with you; don't be afraid." (touching his mouth) "I place my words in your mouth!  I set you over nations to root up and destroy, to build and plant."

• Ps 71:1-4a, 5-6ab, 15, 17  "I will sing of your salvation."  Hear and rescue me; you're my hope and strength.  I depend on you.  I'll proclaim your wondrous deeds.

• Mt 13:1-9  Jesus:  “As a sower sowed, some seed fell on the path and birds ate it, some fell on rocky ground and withered, and some fell among thorns and was choked, but some fell on rich soil, and bore abundant fruit.”

Reflect

• Creighton:  The call of Jeremiah reminds us that when filled with God's strength, we'll have no fear, no insecurities, no second-guessing.  The gospel reminds us that seeds planted in different kinds of soil may or may not thrive.   Though we're co-creators planting and nurturing seeds, we're called to trust God and be patient.  Amid political division, unrest, and violence, I can doubt whether peace and justice are possible and wonder about my role and whether my efforts will bear fruit.  May we continue to trust in God.   Pray Bishop Untener's "Archbishop Romero prayer."

Apollinaris von Ravenna

• One Bread, One Body:  "The radical newness of life after baptism":  Initially, Jeremiah balked at accepting God's call.  He made the excuse that he was too young, but God didn't accept it.  Jeremiah continued to have problems answering God's call though was generally faithful.  We relate to Jeremiah because we're ambivalent in responding to God, but Jesus said that every baptized person is greater than Jeremiah....

• Passionist:  Jeremiah felt inadequate in the face of God's call to speak God's word.  Why should people listen to him, not an effective speaker, inexperienced, lacking wisdom?  But God promised to be with him and give him what he needed, and he kept his promises.   The gospel is also about God's word:  God spreads his word extravagantly; he scatters seed everywhere, not just on fertile ground where he reaps more than he sows.  God continues to bless us and offer new possibilities to respond to him, not demanding that we get rid of the rocks, weeds and hard ground in our lives first....

• DailyScripture.net:  "Since they had no root, they withered away":   Good soil supplies nutrients essential for growth.  Scripture uses the image of fruit-bearing plants or trees for spiritual life.  "Those who trust in the Lord are like trees planted by water, that send out roots, that don't fear when heat comes or in time of drought, always bearing fruit."  Different ways of accepting God's word produce different kinds of fruit:  prejudiced hearers, with closed minds, are unteachable and blind to what they don't want to hear; shallow hearers, lacking depth, don't think things through; people with many interests or cares who don't hear what's truly important are too preoccupied to pray or to meditate on God's word; but open-minded people listen to understand.  God helps those who hunger for his word to understand and live his will.

• Universalis:  St. Apollinaris, bishop, martyr

Dress legend

• 'Phone' tie bar:  'Call' of Jeremiah (1st reading), us

• 'Plant' pin:  "I set you over nations ... to build and plant" (1st reading)

• 'Hand' tie pin:  The Lord extended his hand and touched Jeremiah's mouth (1st reading); "rescue me from the hand of the wicked" (psalm)

• 'Rock' tie pin:  "You are my rock" (psalm); "some seed fell on rocky ground" (gospel)

• 'Boat' tie bar:  Jesus got into a boat... (gospel)

• 'Birds' tie:  Birds ate the seed that fell on the path (gospel)

• 'Rose' pin:  "Some seed fell among thorns" (gospel)

• 'Fruit' pin:  The seed that fell on rich soil bore abundant fruit (gospel)

• Green in shirt, suspenders, tie:  Ordinary Time season

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