Patti will receive a copy of The Catholic Youth Bible®, a $27.95 value.

The Catholic Youth Bible® will be a true companion, helping you find the answers you seek and helping you make connections to Catholic beliefs and traditions.

Over 700 lively articles help you . . .

• Pray It! Use the Bible for personal prayer
• Study It! Understand and make sense of what the Bible says
• Live It! Apply the Bible to real-life situations you're facing now

This New Edition Features:

• New! 40 expanded "Catholic Connection" articles that provide a more complete presentation of those Catholic teachings that are scripturally based
• New! 28 articles that address the seven principles of Catholic social teaching
• New! 40 pages of four-color inserts that help you pray, study, and live the Bible and Catholic teachings
• New! Illustrations throughout to provide a visual context for the biblical stories
• New! Over 275 articles updated to reflect contemporary issues and biblical scholarship

Plus:

• Introductions to the major sections of the Bible and all the books of the Bible
• Biblical connections to many different cultures, illustrating the universality of the Catholic Church
• Insights into how the Church has interpreted key Scripture passages throughout history
• A glossary of Scripture-related terms
• Five special indexes; Sunday readings for cycles A, B, and C; 10 color maps; a four-page color timeline; and three pages of full-color biblical art

The Catholic Youth Bible®
ISBN: 978-1-59982-141-2, paper, 1802 pages

by Joanna Dailey

Happy Pentecost! Yesterday evening, I walked to church. The seasonably mild temperature (neither too cold nor too hot) made walking a joy, and, as I passed lawns and flowerpots up close and personal, I was reminded of all that I miss whenever I whizz through the neighborhood at 30 miles an hour. This also includes human contact. On my 20-minute walk, I was able to greet a few dog-walkers and porch-sitters who were also taking advantage of a beautiful evening in June. Due to recent rains, everything was green.

In the Eastern Churches, the color of the Holy Spirit is green. In the Russian Catholic Church where I worshipped for many years, Pentecost Sunday would find both the priest and the deacon in green vestments. The floor would be covered with green-leafed tree branches. The Holy Spirit brings life and growth! The Holy Spirit renews the world!

Dan Schutte’s hymn "Send Us Your Spirit" (from Oregon Catholic Press) reflects this theme well:

Send us good summer, O Lord.

Winters have chilled us, and stilled us too long.

Give us love’s own fire. Be our true desire.

Send us your Spirit, O Lord.

(©1985, OCP, 5536 NE Hassalo, Portland, OR 97213. All rights reserved. Used with permission.)

The memory of this past winter has made this prayer even more compelling this year. The lavender plants that graced my front walk for the past eight years succumbed to the persistent below-freezing temperatures of this past winter. As I dug up the dead plants and replaced them with new ones, I began to wonder: What is dead in me? What do I need to dig up and replace in my spirit this spring? This is the ever-renewing work of the Holy Spirit.

The Sequence for Pentecost Sunday reminded us that winter’s chill is not the end of the story, and that new life is waiting in hearts that have been frozen too long:

Bend the stubborn heart and will;

Melt the frozen, warm the chill;

Guide the steps that go astray.

(Lectionary, Sequence for Pentecost Sunday)

Summer is our growing season, not only in the natural world but in the spiritual world as well. Just as "the best fertilizer is the farmer’s boots," so we need to pay attention to what is growing within us, and to encourage the tender shoots planted by the Holy Spirit but depending on us for nurturance. Some of us may have the opportunity to take some time away this summer to pay attention to our own inner growth—a growth that helps the entire Church, the entire Body of Christ, to grow. If you have that opportunity, take it—and take the entire Church with you!

(See Make It Happen in this newsletter for a hands-on lesson on growth in the Holy Spirit!)

A verse from an Easter hymn seems appropriate here. Addressing the Risen Christ, we sing:

When our hearts are wintry, grieving, or in pain,

Your touch can bring us back to life again,

Fields of our hearts that dead and bare have been:

Love is come again like wheat arising green.

(Now the Green Blade Rises, by John MacLeod Campbell Crum, Oxford University Press)

Good summer! Good days of green and growth!

Blessings on your ministry!

Peace and joy,

Joanna

P.S. For Pentecost: Saint Mary’s Press Resource Center features a video, "Pentecost in 2 Minutes," from Busted Halo. Worth seeing, even after Pentecost Sunday! Watch it here! As we enter Ordinary Time (formerly called the Season of Pentecost), we need the help of the Holy Spirit each and every day!

Overview
The growth of plants, seen from a spiritual point of view, is a sign of God’s love for us and a sign of our growth in the Holy Spirit. This is true both of plants that we simply enjoy (flowers) and plants that we use for food. At any time of year, beans can be germinated as a sign of growth—perhaps during Lent, Easter, or in preparation or celebration of Pentecost. No soil is needed for germination, but if you want to continue to grow the plant, you can plant the bean in a plastic cup with soil after it has germinated in the plastic bag.

Materials Needed

1. Purchase lima beans from a grocery store and soak overnight to help soften the bean, which is the seed. Everything the plant needs to grow is in this seed, just as God gives each of us what we need to grow physically within our bodies (as long as we take care of them with good food and exercise) and, spiritually, within our hearts and souls, with the grace given to us in the Word of God and in the Sacraments.

2. Dampen a paper towel and put it in the baggie.

3. Put a few beans on the paper towel and close the baggie. Place on a sunny windowsill. (See prayer below to pray at the beginning of the project.)

4. As needed, open the baggie and water the towel with a spray bottle to keep the towel moist. Be careful not to overwater, or the seeds will get moldy.
5. When roots appear, the beans can be planted in plastic cups and taken home.

Prayer: Lord, you are the giver of life. Give life to these beans. Make their growth a sign to us of our growth in your love and care. You give us the earth in all its abundance so that we might live. Help us to share your love and care with others. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Note: If you search online for TickleMePlant, you will find the TickleMe Plant Company. This company sells seed packets of plants that respond to human touch. Teachers in both grade school and high school have reported success with these plants, which can be grown as houseplants when the lesson is finished. I do not have personal experience with this plant, but, at a time when children have fewer experiences with nature than ever before, it might be worth looking into this as a special project and relating it to our growth in the Holy Spirit—and our sensitivity to God’s touch!

Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (Corpus Christi)
June 22, 2014
John 6:51-58

Opening Prayer

Jesus, thank you for giving us the gift of your Body and Blood to nurture and sustain us. We are grateful that in receiving your Body and Blood through the Sacrament of the Eucharist we are able to come into a more perfect union with you. Amen.

Context Connection
This Sunday's Gospel is best understood within the whole context of chapter six and within the larger context of the Jewish understanding of Passover. Chapter six begins with Jesus feeding a crowd of 5,000 from the humble gift of five barley loaves and two fish offered by a boy. In essence this chapter states John's theology on the Eucharist. John's Gospel does not contain a story of the Last Supper in which bread is broken and wine is shared. In John's Gospel it is the day following the feeding of the 5,000 when Jesus meets up with the crowd again in Capernaum and declares to those gathered in the synagogue (6:59) that he is the bread that has come down from heaven. This Sunday's Gospel is a portion of that "homily."

John tells us that all these things happened near the time of the celebration of Passover: "Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near" (6:4). Passover is a central feast for the Jews and can be compared to the centrality of Easter for Christians. For Jews, Passover celebrates not only passage out of Egypt and freedom from Egyptian slavery, it also recalls reception of the Ten Commandments at Sinai and the manna in the desert. After the Israelites were freed from slavery, Yahweh continued to sustain his people through the Law and manna. God did not abandon the Jewish people in the desert. Jews understood that both the Law and manna were life-giving. The famous Scripture passage in Deuteronomy records it this way: "understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (8:3).

In the synagogue during Passover, Jesus announces that there is now new bread from heaven that is greater than the bread from heaven that sustained the Israelites in the desert. This talk about "bread from heaven" presupposes knowledge of the manna in the desert. However, Jesus says that the bread he speaks of fulfills and even transcends the Law and the bread of manna: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (6:51). Jesus not only speaks of this new bread of heaven as being greater than the manna given by Yahweh—the great "I AM"—but Jesus also claims to be the "I AM." It is not surprising that the next verse says that the Jews "disputed among themselves" (6:52). Jesus' assertion stretched the theological concepts and understanding of his listeners to a breaking point. Jesus says that he is the true bread from heaven, which replaces the former bread from heaven, manna, and that it is in eating "the flesh of the Son of Man and drink[ing] his blood" (6:53) that one gains eternal life. Then Jesus emphasizes that it is his flesh and blood: "Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink" (6:54-55). It was only after Jesus' death on the cross, his Resurrection, and the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost that his disciples fully understood what Jesus was saying. The cross was the instrument that God used to reveal a new, never-failing source of nourishment given through broken flesh and spilled blood. In the celebration of the Eucharist, we encounter the flesh and blood of Jesus the Christ.

Tradition Connection
The feast of the Body and Blood of Christ helps us, as Catholics, to focus on the centrality of the Sacrament of the Eucharist in our lives. Through the Eucharist Jesus makes present to us today the Paschal Mystery—his death and Resurrection. By offering the bread and wine and through the words of consecration, these simple gifts from the earth become the Body and Blood of Jesus:

At the heart of the Eucharistic celebration are the bread and wine that, by the words of Christ and the invocation of the Holy Spirit, become Christ's Body and Blood. Faithful to the Lord's command the Church continues to do, in his memory and until his glorious return, what he did on the eve of his Passion: "He took bread. . . ." "He took the cup filled with wine. . . ." The signs of bread and wine become, in a way surpassing understanding, the Body and Blood of Christ; they continue also to signify the goodness of creation. Thus in the Offertory we give thanks to the Creator for bread and wine,1 fruit of the "work of human hands," but above all as "fruit of the earth" and "of the vine"—gifts of the Creator. The Church sees in the gesture of the king-priest Melchizedek, who "brought out bread and wine," a prefiguring of her own offering2 (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1333).

The bread and wine offered by the king-priest Melchizedek was a prefiguring of the Eucharist, but the Jews also offered bread and wine to God. Bread and wine were part of the firstfruits of the earth that were offered in gratitude and thanksgiving for the abundance that God the Creator provided:

In the Old Covenant bread and wine were offered in sacrifice among the first fruits of the earth as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to the Creator. But they also received a new significance in the context of the Exodus: the unleavened bread that Israel eats every year at Passover commemorates the haste of the departure that liberated them from Egypt; the remembrance of the manna in the desert will always recall to Israel that it lives by the bread of the Word of God;3 their daily bread is the fruit of the promised land, the pledge of God's faithfulness to his promises. The "cup of blessing"4 at the end of the Jewish Passover meal adds to the festive joy of wine an eschatological dimension: the messianic expectation of the rebuilding of Jerusalem. When Jesus instituted the Eucharist, he gave a new and definitive meaning to the blessing of the bread and the cup (Catechism, paragraph 1334).

Each time we celebrate the Eucharist we give thanks to God for God's superabundant blessings. The Sacrament helps us to recall that all we have is gift, including life itself:

The miracles of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, prefigure the superabundance of this unique bread of his Eucharist.5 The sign of water turned into wine at Cana already announces the Hour of Jesus' glorification. It makes manifest the fulfillment of the wedding feast in the Father's kingdom, where the faithful will drink the new wine that has become the Blood of Christ6 (Catechism, paragraph 1335).

Wisdom Connection
John tries to help his first-century community come to a fuller understanding of the nature of the Eucharist. This new bread from heaven, a gift from God the Father, is given to sustain the community as the manna had done in the past. However, there is a difference. This new bread, which is the body—the flesh—of Jesus, has the ability to give Jesus' followers eternal life. Bread exists to nourish—to give life. Jesus, as the new bread that came down from heaven, gives his life for the world continuously. In chapter six John emphasizes that Jesus is the bread of life: "I [Jesus] am the living bread" (51). For Catholics, Jesus gave of himself totally on the cross and continues to give of himself in the Eucharist. Each time the Eucharist is celebrated, Jesus sustains and nurtures the assembly through the gift of his Body and Blood: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (6:53).

John also wants his community to remember the importance of the word of God as written in Deuteronomy: "One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" (8:3). The Eucharist consists of two equally important parts: the Word and Communion. The assembly is equally nurtured and sustained by both. Because Jesus in Scripture and Jesus in the Eucharist cannot be separated, the documents of Vatican Council II talk about the assembly living from the one table of the Word of God and the Body and Blood of Christ.

Acknowledgments
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Endnotes cited in quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1. Cf. Psalm 104:13-15.
2. Genesis 14:18; cf. Roman Missal, Eucharistic Prayer I (Roman Canon) 95.
3. Cf. Deuteronomy 8:3.
4. 1 Corinthians 10:16.
5. Cf. Matthew 14:13-21; 15:32-39.
6. Cf. John 2:11; Mark 14:25.

Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, Apostles
June 29, 2014
Matthew 16:13-19

Opening Prayer

Jesus, we believe that you are the Messiah, the anointed one, sent by God the Father to restore humankind's relationship with God. May our actions and deeds give witness to this belief. Amen.

Context Connection
The setting for this Sunday's Gospel is in "the district of Caesarea Philippi" (16:13). The city of Caesarea Philippi was located in the most northern region of Israel on the southern slopes of Mount Hermon, an area that is a major source of water for the Sea of Galilee and the Jordan River. It is in this area that the tribe of Dan settled after their return from slavery in Egypt. It was also the ancient site of the city of Panias, which was built to honor the god Pan. King Herod's son Philip rebuilt the city and dedicated it to the Roman Emperor and himself, thus the name Caesarea Philippi.

It is in this city that Jesus asks his disciples a very important question about his identity: "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" (16:13). The disciples initially respond with speculations that they have heard others voice: Jesus is John the Baptist come back to life (Matthew 14:1); Jesus is Elijah, who had been taken up into heaven in a fiery chariot and has now returned to accompany the coming of God's Kingdom (Malachi 4:5–6); Jesus is one of the prophets, in particular the prophet Jeremiah (Matthew 2:17; 16:14; 27:9). This last claim is unique to Matthew's Gospel, which often points out the similarities between Jesus and the prophet Jeremiah.

Jesus then questions his disciples, "Who do you say that I am?" (16:15). Jesus is not concerned with what others have to say about his identity, but what his disciples believe and say about his identity is very important. You may recall from chapter 14 in Matthew that in the story of Jesus walking on water the disciples proclaimed that Jesus was the Son of God (33). Jesus wants his disciples to understand what the title "Son of God" means. Peter gives a clear and succinct response to Jesus' question: "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God" (16:16). Jesus blesses Peter for his response because Peter's understanding is due directly to a revelation from God the Father and not to human speculation.

Because Peter professes belief in Jesus as the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus places his trust in Peter and builds the Christian Church on the rock-hard foundation of Peter's faith. The Church is rock solid when it professes that Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one of God who brings about the salvation of all. Jesus promised that as long as faith is strong not even "the gates of Hades" will prevail against it (16:18). Hades is a Greek term to describe the underworld, or the world of death. In Greek mythology the three sons of the Titans Cronus and Rhea—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—divided the world among themselves. Zeus received the sky. Poseidon was given the seas. Hades's portion was the underworld. In Hebrew Hades is translated as "Sheol," which is the place of the dead.

Jesus further emphasizes the power that he is bestowing on Peter and the church: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven" (16:19). The word "key" has multiple meanings: a key can be used to unlock a door; a key can be used to find the correct answer to an exam; or a key can be the correct way of making the Kingdom of Heaven on earth a reality. The keys to making God's Kingdom a reality on earth are for Jesus' followers to love God completely and to love their neighbor as themselves. If Jesus' disciples work to establish this Kingdom on earth, then, "whatever [the disciples] bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever [the disciples] loose on earth will be loosed in heaven" (16:19). The passage closes with Jesus ordering the disciples not to tell others of his true identity as the Messiah, not yet: "Then [Jesus] sternly ordered the disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah" (16:20).

Tradition Connection
"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God" (16:16). Peter's proclamation points to Jesus as the one that all of Israel has been waiting for, the one promised by the living God who will restore humanity's relationship with God. We use the title "Christ" to designate that Jesus is the Messiah. The word "Christ" comes from the Greek word christos—the anointed one—which is the Greek translation of "messiah." We believe Jesus the Christ is the anointed one sent by God to accomplish God's will on earth—bringing all people to salvation. Jesus did this in a threefold way as priest, prophet, and king:

The word "Christ" comes from the Greek translation of the Hebrew Messiah, which means "anointed." It became the name proper to Jesus only because he accomplished perfectly the divine mission that "Christ" signifies. In effect, in Israel those consecrated to God for a mission that he gave were anointed in his name. This was the case for kings, for priests and, in rare instances, for prophets.1 This had to be the case all the more so for the Messiah whom God would send to inaugurate his kingdom definitively.2 It was necessary that the Messiah be anointed by the Spirit of the Lord at once as king and priest, and also as prophet.3 Jesus fulfilled the messianic hope of Israel in his threefold office of priest, prophet, and king (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 436).

At baptism an individual is anointed with the holy oil of chrism by the celebrant to unite the person to Christ, who is priest, prophet, and king. Thus those baptized share in these three roles:

The baptized have become "living stones" to be "built into a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood."4 By Baptism they share in the priesthood of Christ, in his prophetic and royal mission. They are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own people, that [they] may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called [them] out of darkness into his marvelous light."5 Baptism gives a share in the common priesthood of all believers (Catechism, paragraph 1268).

The baptized become "living stones." Jesus continues to build his Church today upon the living stones of all the baptized.

Wisdom Connection
Jesus' question to the disciples is a question that all Christians need to answer, often many times, in their faith journey. Just as Peter's relationship grew during the three years he traveled with Jesus, our relationship with Jesus grows continuously. Each opportunity that deepens our relationship with Jesus brings new insights into Jesus' true identity. In chapter 14 of Matthew's Gospel, Peter and the other disciples proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God after they encounter him walking on water. In chapter 16 of Matthew, Peter's understanding of Jesus' identity is deeper and more profound. Peter's response comes from the depth of his being, where he knows in his heart of hearts the truth—that Jesus is the Messiah. This revelation could only have come from God. At that moment of truth there is a degree of risk that Peter must take. Peter is rewarded for his willingness to be vulnerable. Jesus blesses him and makes Peter a model for all Christians of what it means to trust in God completely. Jesus was so convinced of Peter's authentic faith that he said, "You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church" (16:18). For one critical moment, Peter opened himself to the truth and was forever changed.

Jesus asks us the same question: "Who do you say that I am?" (16:15). How will you respond? Do you recognize Jesus as the Son of the living God, or do you share the speculations of others? Are you willing to take the risk of professing your belief in Jesus? Do you dare to speak the truth? In truth we are changed. Jesus seeks those who are willing to take risks and who honestly profess their belief in him. They are the rock on which Jesus continues to build his Church.

Acknowledgments
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Endnotes cited in quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1. Cf. Exodus 29:7; Leviticus 8:12; 1 Samuel 9:16; 10:1; 16:1,12–13; 1 Kings 1:39; 19:16.
2. Cf. Psalms 2:2; Acts of the Apostles 4:26–27.
3. Cf. Isaiah 11:2; 61:1; Zechariah 4:14; 6:13; Luke 4:16–21.
4. 1 Peter 2:5.
5. 1 Peter 2:9.

Fourteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 6, 2014
Matthew 11:25-30

Opening Prayer

Jesus, thank you for inviting us to come to know God the Father more intimately. Your complete love for the Father serves as an excellent model for how we can nurture this loving relationship. As we grow in our love of God the Father, help us to understand the Father's plans for us. Amen.

Context Connection
This Sunday's Gospel begins with Jesus saying a prayer of praise and thanksgiving to God for what God has done: "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the intelligent and have revealed them to infants" (11:25). Jesus addresses God as Father, showing his special intimacy with God. In his reference to the wise, from whom God has hidden the significance of Jesus' ministry, Jesus is clearly speaking of the scribes and Pharisees. But Jesus is also referring to the unrepentant cities that he cursed in 11:20–24. Instead, God chooses to reveal his message of the Kingdom to the "infants." Other translations use the words "childlike" or "the little ones." These terms refer to Jesus' followers. Even though Jesus' disciples lack social status or formal education in religious matters, they are able to comprehend what Jesus came to reveal about God the Father: "All things have been handed over to me by my Father" (11:27). Everything that God the Father wants humans to understand about the nature of God is revealed through Jesus, his Son. Jesus is the source of understanding of God the Father—from the origins of creation to the future reign of God's Kingdom. Jesus emphasizes this point when he says, "No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him" (11:27). In human relationships the bond between a father and a son is unique. They often have a mutual understanding of each other that is not shared with anyone else. The expression "like father, like son" can serve as a basis from which to understand Jesus' relationship with God the Father, or it can propel us to a new understanding—that to this point the revelation of God has been partial, but now with Jesus it is complete. Jesus is willing to share his relationship with God the Father with his followers. Through Jesus, the Son of the Father, believers can now come to know God fully. In the past no human being really knew God. Now the way to come to know the Father completely is through Jesus.

Jesus extends an invitation to all those who are not yet disciples, "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest" (11:28). Matthew often speaks of the heavy load that the scribes and Pharisees laid upon their people—the many rules and regulations that directed the daily lives of Jews. These 613 commandments created by the Pharisees were advice to help God's people to be holy, but they were often burdensome. Jesus promises that those who follow him and take up his way of discipline will find rest and renewal. The discipline, or yoke, that Jesus asks his disciples to take up is modeled after his own life: "I am gentle and humble in heart" (11:29). These are the commands that direct the lives of those who seek the Kingdom of God. Jesus concludes by saying, "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (11:30). Jesus invites his disciples into a relationship with him—a relationship of gentleness and humility. Jesus cannot be accused of being lax because he is inviting his disciples into a very disciplined way of life, but Jesus says this way of life will be easier because it is built on a relationship with a loving and caring God.

Tradition Connection
Jesus extends to his disciples a way of coming to know God more intimately. Jesus' purpose is to reveal to those who follow him the true nature of God the Father. As a believer's faith in God deepens, he or she seeks to understand God more fully. This growth process is ongoing throughout the life of a believer. God is so large that God is beyond any one person's understanding. But the search to know God more fully expands our knowledge and understanding of God. Jesus promised to all who professed belief in him and became his followers that he would be part of that process:

"Faith seeks understanding":1 it is intrinsic to faith that a believer desires to know better the One in whom he has put his faith and to understand better what He has revealed; a more penetrating knowledge will in turn call forth a greater faith, increasingly set afire by love. The grace of faith opens "the eyes of your hearts"2 to a lively understanding of the contents of Revelation: that is, of the totality of God's plan and the mysteries of faith, of their connection with each other and with Christ, the center of the revealed mystery. "The same Holy Spirit constantly perfects faith by his gifts, so that Revelation may be more and more profoundly understood."3 In the words of St. Augustine, "I believe, in order to understand; and I understand, the better to believe"4 (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 158).

Jesus is the revelation of God that took on human flesh. Therefore, Jesus is the model of how an individual enriches her or his relationship with God the Father. In the Incarnation Jesus accepted the will of the Father and took the form of a human being so that he could more effectively reveal the true nature of God to humankind. As "God made man," Jesus became the way to a more intimate relationship with God the Father—a relationship that God the Father strongly desired from the beginning of creation:

The Word became flesh to be our model of holiness: "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me." "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me."5 On the mountain of the Transfiguration, the Father commands: "Listen to him!"6 Jesus is the model for the Beatitudes and the norm of the new law: "Love one another as I have loved you."7 This love implies an effective offering of oneself, after his example 8 (Catechism, paragraph 459).

Jesus guarantees the certainty of faith. Faith in Jesus is faith in God the Father. And God the Father is the essence of pure truth. The truth revealed to Jesus by the Father is the same truth that Jesus has revealed to us. As believers in God as revealed to us by Jesus Christ, we know that the word of God is truth and life:

Faith is certain. It is more certain than all human knowledge because it is founded on the very word of God who cannot lie. To be sure, revealed truths can seem obscure to human reason and experience, but "the certainty that the divine light gives is greater than that which the light of natural reason gives."9 "Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt"10 (Catechism, paragraph 157).

Wisdom Connection
Matthew's community was mainly comprised of Jews who had converted to Christianity. As Jews they had to be obedient to all the rules and regulations that the Pharisees had set forth. This sometimes was referred to as the "yoke of the law." It was a very disciplined life, and observing all the precepts was often a yoke that was impossible to bear. With all the precise rules and restrictions imposed by the Pharisees' interpretation of the law, salvation seemed far away or even impossible to obtain. Matthew wants his community to know that Jesus came to give them a new yoke of discipline for their lives. Jesus' yoke is easy and his burden is light. Jesus shows Christians the way to live—to be gentle and humble of heart.

The image of a yoke is also a sign of hope for Christian converts, reminding them that they do not walk alone—they are yoked to Jesus. Jesus walks with them, showing them the way. If they learn to synchronize their actions (movements) with those of Jesus, the yoke makes following the precepts of Jesus easy. The yoke can be perceived as a tool that helps the believer walk more easily with Jesus. It speaks of an intimate relationship between Jesus and his disciples—a relationship between the student and the master. This is how we find peace—working as a team with Jesus.

Acknowledgments
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Endnotes cited in quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1. St. Anselm, Prosl. proem: J.P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Latina (Paris: 1841–1855) 153, 225A.
2. Ephesians 1:18.
3. Dei Verbum 5.
4. St. Augustine, Sermo 43, 7, 9: J.P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Latina (Paris: 1841–1855) 38, 257–258.
5. Matthew 11:29; John 14:6.
6. Mark 9:7; cf. Deuteronomy 6:4–5.
7. John 15:12.
8. Cf. Mark 8:34.
9. St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae II-II, 171, 5, obj. 3.
10. John Henry Cardinal Newman, Apologia pro vita sua (London: Longman, 1878), 239.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
July 13, 2014
Matthew 13:1-9

Opening Prayer

Jesus, thank you for inviting us to come to know God the Father more intimately. Your complete love for the Father serves as an excellent model for how we can nurture this loving relationship. As we grow in our love of God the Father, help us to understand the Father's plans for us. Amen.

Context Connection
The opening verse of chapter 13 connects Sunday's Gospel with the events in the previous chapter: "That same day" (13:1). Jesus is teaching through the use of a parable, which is a format Jesus uses often in the Gospels. The crowd grows so large that Jesus has to move out of the house and into a boat, preaching and speaking in parables a short distance offshore. The literary genre of parables ranges from stories to riddles. This particular parable that Jesus uses is a story about a farmer who goes out to sow seeds. In the process of sowing, the seeds fall in various places. Some seeds fall on the walking path, some seeds fall on rocky ground, some seeds fall among the thorns, and some seeds fall on good soil. The seeds that fall on good soil produce thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and even a hundredfold. This is an exceptional yield.

A closer look at each component of the parable helps us understand that Jesus is using the parable to speak about spreading the Word of God. The sower refers to Jesus as the one preaching the Kingdom of God. The seed is the Word of God that is spread throughout the world by Jesus' preaching. The different types of soil represent the various degrees to which human beings are receptive to the Word of God. The growth process shows that the seeds are all good seeds but, because of the various degrees of receptivity, some seeds have a short growth span and never reach maturity and others never take root at all. The harvest of those seeds that do reach maturity, however, produces thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold—a yield beyond the wildest expectations of any sower. The parables are often never explained in the Gospels, but Matthew provides an interpretation of the parable of the sower in 13:18–23.

This story of the sower appears in three of the four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—which demonstrates the significance of this parable for the early Christian community. It was a way to explain why some of those who became Christians later decided not to remain in the Christian community. At the same time, it gave encouragement and affirmation to those members who had remained faithful to their Baptism into Jesus Christ.

As a person who was raised on a farm, where planting crops was a very important part of the success of the overall business of farming, I find the image of the sower very interesting. This individual is throwing seeds everywhere—even in places where the seeds do not have a chance to mature. As I recall, we would prepare the soil and then, with the use of machinery, very carefully place the seeds into the ground to maximize the yield. That is not the case with the sower in this parable. The sower might have been a prodigal—a person who lavishly sows the seeds to ensure the whole area is covered. In spite of the sower's abundant generosity, only the seeds that find good soil produce a remarkable yield. Jesus is asking his disciples to approach spreading the seeds of the Good News in the same way. In allowing the seeds of the Gospel to be sown lavishly and in the most unlikely places, God's Word just might find good soil and mature. Those who mature in faith become the source through whom God's Word is sown further in the world.

Tradition Connection
Jesus employs parables often to speak about the Kingdom of God. Through parables, particularly in this Sunday's reading, Jesus invites us to become a part of the Kingdom by allowing the Word of God to take root in our lives; and by nurturing it to its maturity the Word of God continues to be spread:

Jesus' invitation to enter his kingdom comes in the form of parables, a characteristic feature of his teaching.1 Through his parables he invites people to the feast of the kingdom, but he also asks for a radical choice: to gain the kingdom, one must give everything.2 Words are not enough; deeds are required.3 The parables are like mirrors for man: will he be hard soil or good earth for the word?4 What use has he made of the talents he has received?5 Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter the kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ, in order to "know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven."6 For those who stay "outside," everything remains enigmatic 7 (Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 546).

In the parable of the sower, once God's Word has taken root in the life of a believer, the true disciple is recognized by the fruits of the maturing seed. Because God has gifted human beings with free will at creation, each person can choose to be a part of the Kingdom or not. The parables that Jesus told are to help us reflect on our lives and discern whether or not we are examples of Christ in the world. Being a follower of Jesus means that we choose to enter into the Kingdom—allowing the Word of God to be transformed into good deeds in our lives. For Jesus' disciples, a life of good deeds must be coupled with a life that makes time for prayer. Through prayer the disciple becomes aware of the movement of the Spirit of God in her or his life—rooting the Word of God more deeply in the fertile soil of her or his life:

The Holy Spirit is the living water "welling up to eternal life"8 in the heart that prays. It is he who teaches us to accept it at its source: Christ. Indeed in the Christian life there are several wellsprings where Christ awaits us to enable us to drink of the Holy Spirit (Catechism, paragraph 2652).

The Word of God, which is compiled in the Bible, serves as a source of God's Revelation. Therefore, it is essential that every believer know and read Scripture because it is the source of divine inspiration. The reading of Scripture, in turn, will help the disciple to pray more easily:

The Church "forcefully and specially exhorts all the Christian faithful . . . to learn 'the surpassing knowledge of Jesus Christ' (Phil 3:8) by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures. . . . Let them remember, however, that prayer should accompany the reading of Sacred Scripture, so that a dialogue takes place between God and man. For 'we speak to him when we pray; we listen to him when we read the divine oracles'"9 (Catechism, paragraph 2653).

Wisdom Connection
The connection between the sower in the parable and Jesus, who is spreading the seeds of God's Word through his preaching, may be evident. But can you imagine yourself as the sower—the one who continues to take the good seeds of God's Word and sow them in the world today? It is the disciples' task to scatter the seeds in the same fashion as the sower in the parable, with lavish abandon, scattering the seeds far and wide so the Word of God can take root in the most unlikely places. Remember that before Jesus ascended into heaven he commissioned the disciples to spread the Good News of God to the ends of the earth. This is our mission as well. The most powerful way of spreading the Word of God is through the witness of our own lives, in which case we become the Word of God.

Acknowledgments
The scriptural quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Catholic Edition. Copyright © 1993 and 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. All rights reserved.

The quotations labeled Catechism are from the English translation of the Catechism of the Catholic Church for use in the United States of America. Copyright © 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc.—Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Used with permission.

Endnotes cited in quotations from the Catechism of the Catholic Church

1. Cf. Mark 4:33–34.
2. Cf. Matthew 13:44–45; 22:1–14.
3. Cf. Matthew 21:28–32.
4. Cf. Matthew 13:3–9.
5. Cf. Matthew 25:14–30.
6. Matthew 13:11.
7. Mark 4:11; cf. Matthew 13:10–15.
8. John 4:14.
9. Dei Verbum 25; cf. Philippians 3:8; St. Ambrose, De officiis ministrorum 1, 20, 88: J.P. Migne, ed., Patrologia Latina (Paris: 1841–1855) 16, 50.

A short overview of the life of Saint Germaine of Pibrac can be found in our Liturgical Calendar. Saint Germaine was born with a disability (a withered hand) and was victimized by an abusive stepmother. As a shepherdess, she spent much time outdoors and was forced to sleep in the stable. Once, when accused by her stepmother of stealing a loaf of bread to give to a beggar, Germaine opened her apron. In the midst of winter, a shower of fresh spring flowers fell out. Her hard life no doubt led to her early death at age 21.

God did not radically change Germaine’s circumstances, but helped her to deal with them in the midst of human cruelty. Saint Germaine is the patron of abandoned people, victims of abuse, those who are physically challenged, the poor, the sick, and girls from rural areas.