September 19
Saturday of the Twenty-fourth Week in Ordinary Time
Give a Mass Offering
Prayer for Spiritual Communion
My Jesus, I believe that you are present in the most Blessed Sacrament. I love You above all things and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot now receive You sacramentally, come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there, and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
“I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.”
Readings & Reflection
Perseverance! Does it not sound exhausting?
In the days in which we live, it seems that everyone is exhausted. Perhaps it is stress due to Covid-19. Perhaps it is just the pace of life which we have had imposed upon us. Luke, in today’s Gospel, reminds us that we must be the person who is “rich soil.” This means that our faith life must be fertile if the word of God is to take root and grow within us.
Every gardener knows that soil preparation is key. We all have planted in less than ideal conditions, and yet we often lament the fact that our efforts have yielded little if any fruit. The gospel story today is oh so familiar. It is the story of the rocky ground, the trampled ground, and the good soil. Which one would we categorize ourselves?
Prayer can help us prepare the soil of our faith life. Without prayer, the world and those in it trample us. Our hearts then become stony and the word of God cannot grow, not to mention bear fruit!
Let us indulge in prayer today. Select a phrase from Sacred Scripture that moves you. Pray with those words. Delve deeply into their meaning for you. Allow God to plant the seeds of faith that you may rejoice in a bountiful harvest!
Peace,
Fr. John Kurgan
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