Reading 1 Jer 1:1, 4-10
of a priestly family in Anathoth, in the land of Benjamin.
The word of the LORD came to me thus:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I dedicated you,
a prophet to the nations I appointed you.
“Ah, Lord GOD!” I said,
AI know not how to speak; I am too young.”
But the LORD answered me,
Say not, “I am too young.”
To whomever I send you, you shall go;
whatever I command you, you shall speak.
Have no fear before them,
because I am with you to deliver you, says the LORD.
Then the LORD extended his hand and touched my mouth, saying,
See, I place my words in your mouth!
This day I set you
over nations and over kingdoms,
To root up and to tear down,
to destroy and to demolish,
to build and to plant.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15 and 17
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
Alleluia
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel Mt 13:1-9
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some 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.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
THE RADICAL NEWNESS OF LIFE AFTER BAPTISM
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you." –Jeremiah 1:5
For the next two weeks at daily Mass, the Church reads to us from the prophet Jeremiah. Initially, Jeremiah balked at accepting God's call to prophesy. He tried the excuse that he was too young (Jer 1:6). God did not accept this excuse (Jer 1:7). Throughout much of Jeremiah's life, he continued to have problems answering God's call, although he was for the most part faithful to the Lord.
Many Christians can relate to Jeremiah because they too are ambivalent in responding to God's calls. However, Jesus said that every baptized person is greater than Jeremiah (Mt 11:11). Jeremiah never had a new nature, never was a baptized son of God, and never received the body and the blood of Jesus. We live in a covenant whose glory is far beyond anything Jeremiah had ever known (see 2 Cor 3:10). Therefore, we should not relate so much to Jeremiah's ambivalence as to Jesus' faithfulness. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old order has passed away; now all is new!" (2 Cor 5:17) Live your Baptism radically and fully.
| PRAYER: | Father, may the study of the book of Jeremiah help me appreciate profoundly the radical newness of Baptism. |
| PROMISE: | "See, I place My words in your mouth!" –Jer 1:9 |
| PRAISE: | The martyr St. Apollinaris was a faithful bishop. He defended Christians to the emperor and Christ to non-Christians. |
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