September 17th : Gospel The parable of the sowerA Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St.Luke 8: 4-15

September 17th : Gospel 

The parable of the sower

A Reading from the Holy Gospel according to St.Luke 8: 4-15 

With a large crowd gathering and people from every town finding their way to him, Jesus used this parable:

  ‘A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell on the edge of the path and was trampled on; and the birds of the air ate it up. Some seed fell on rock, and when it came up it withered away, having no moisture. Some seed fell amongst thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell into rich soil and grew and produced its crop a hundredfold.’ Saying this he cried, ‘Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’

  His disciples asked him what this parable might mean, and he said, ‘The mysteries of the kingdom of God are revealed to you; for the rest there are only parables, so that

they may see but not perceive,

listen but not understand.

‘This, then, is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. Those on the edge of the path are people who have heard it, and then the devil comes and carries away the word from their hearts in case they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are people who, when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of trial they give up. As for the part that fell into thorns, this is people who have heard, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and do not reach maturity. As for the part in the rich soil, this is people with a noble and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance.’

The Word of the Lord.

September 17th : Responsorial PsalmPsalm 55(56):10-14 I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.

September 17th : Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 55(56):10-14 

I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.

My foes will be put to flight

  on the day that I call to you.

This I know, that God is on my side.

I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.

In God, whose word I praise,

  in the Lord whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I shall not fear;

  what can mortal man do to me?

I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.

I am bound by the vows I have made you.

  O God, I will offer you praise

for you have rescued my soul from death,

  you kept my feet from stumbling

that I may walk in the presence of God

  and enjoy the light of the living.

I shall walk in the presence of God in the light of the living.

Gospel Acclamation Ps118:18

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open my eyes, O Lord, that I may consider

the wonders of your law.

Alleluia!

September 17th : First ReadingThe resurrected body is heavenly by natureA Reading from the First Letter of St.Paul to the Corinthians 15: 35-37, 42-49

September 17th : First Reading

The resurrected body is heavenly by nature

A Reading from the First Letter of St.Paul to the Corinthians 15: 35-37, 42-49 

Someone may ask, ‘How are dead people raised, and what sort of body do they have when they come back?’ They are stupid questions. Whatever you sow in the ground has to die before it is given new life and the thing that you sow is not what is going to come; you sow a bare grain, say of wheat or something like that. It is the same with the resurrection of the dead: the thing that is sown is perishable but what is raised is imperishable; the thing that is sown is contemptible but what is raised is glorious; the thing that is sown is weak but what is raised is powerful; when it is sown it embodies the soul, when it is raised it embodies the spirit.

  If the soul has its own embodiment, so does the spirit have its own embodiment. The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul; but the last Adam has become a life-giving spirit. That is, first the one with the soul, not the spirit, and after that, the one with the spirit. The first man, being from the earth, is earthly by nature; the second man is from heaven. As this earthly man was, so are we on earth; and as the heavenly man is, so are we in heaven. And we, who have been modelled on the earthly man, will be modelled on the heavenly man.

The Word of the Lord.