Thursday, July 27, 2017

Reflection for Monday July 31, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Priest: Matthew 13:31-35

Gospel: Matthew 13:31-35
Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.  "The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'" He spoke to them another parable. "The Kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened."

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation of the world.
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Reflection:
Do you want to increase your faith?

The tiny mustard seed became the largest of plants, the yeast was little until it was mixed with three measures of wheat flour after which it grew bigger. There’s that transition in the gospel for both parables from being small both grew big.

By virtue of the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Confirmation Jesus planted that small seed of faith in us. He has no other desire but for us to nurture it and let it grow and bloom where other could benefit from us. But somehow as we mature many of us put aside our faith and we prioritize the temporal things of this world.

God’s desire is for us to nurture our faith, it’s His perpetual yearning for us: to grow our faith. Let us therefore ask Jesus to grant us the grace to increase our faith. And of course let us also do our part by faithfully adhering to the teachings of the church, by our pious presence at Holy Mass and by reading the bible.

Thus our faith will grow, just like the tiny mustard seed which grew big and the yeast which livened the three measures of wheat flour. – Marino J. Dasmarinas

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