Build a House

January 27, 2010

Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

And when your time comes and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your heir after you, sprung from your loins, and I will make his kingdom firm. It is he who shall build a house for my name. And I will make his royal throne firm forever. I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. 2 Samuel 7:12-14

"The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that 'they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.'" Mark 4:11-12

Piety

The following prayer was composed by John Veltri, S.J., a Canadian spiritual director and expert guide for those presenting the Spiritual Exercises. He died in 2008. May he rest in peace.

Teach Me To Listen

Teach me to listen, O God, to those nearest me, my family, my friends, my co-workers.

Help me to be aware that the words – no matter what I hear the message is – Accept the person I am. Listen to me.

Teach me to listen, my caring God, to those far from me – the whisper of the hopeless, the plea of the forgotten, the cry of the anguished.

Teach me to listen, O God my Mother, to myself. Help me to be less afraid to trust the voice inside – in the deepest part of me.

Teach me to listen, Holy Spirit, for your voice in the busyness and in boredom, and in doubt and in noise and in silence.

Teach me to listen, Lord, to listen.

Study

The mystery of the Kingdom of God was revealed to Nathan and was shared with David. The Lord told them that an heir from the lineage of David would build the house of God on earth.

When the Lord spoke with his disciples, he explained that the mystery of the Kingdom of God also was revealed to them. The mystery sat right in their midst. They had the unequalled opportunity to listen to the words of Jesus and make sure that they knew exactly what was meant in the parables and allegorical stories told to the crowds.

Today, Mark gives us an example of Jesus preaching and interpreting what is mean. He tells the disciples a story. Then he explains what it means. Then, he concludes by telling them why it matters.

The notes provided in the New American Bible also give some interpretation of the story of the sower. “Since in Palestine sowing often preceded ploughing, much of the seed is scattered on ground that is unsuitable. Yet while much is wasted, the seed that falls on good ground bears fruit in extraordinarily large measure. The point of the parable is that, in spite of some failure because of opposition and indifference, the message of Jesus about the coming of the kingdom will have enormous success.”

Action

Today, we interpret these Christian truths not with the examples of live in Palestine two thousand years ago. We relate by considering examples of communications from today. We know that mystery in the lesson of the sower to be true as we attend Mass on Sunday thousands of miles from Judea. A quick check of the local diocese web site reveals some basic facts: http://www.arlingtondiocese.org/bishop/did_you_know.php There you will find that there are:

• 642,064 Catholics registered in Virginia

· 428,417 Registered Catholics in the Arlington Diocese where there are:

o 8,020 annual Baptisms and Professions of Faith

o 1,407 Marriages

o 251priests

o 68 Parishes

o 6 Missions

o 41 diocesan schools

I guess you could say that some of the seed fell on fertile soil.

What are you going to do this week to cultivate that fertile ground?