Ez 17, 22-24
This is what the Lord God says:
“I will take a shoot from the top of a great cedar,
From its highest branch I will cut a shoot.
I will plant it on the top of a lofty and sublime mountain.
I will plant it on the highest mountain in Israel.
It will put forth branches, it will bear fruit
and it will become a magnificent cedar.
All kinds of birds will nest in it
and they will rest in the shelter of its branches.
Thus all the trees of the field will know that I, the Lord,
I humiliate the tall trees
and I lift up the small trees;
that dry the lush trees
and I make the dry trees bloom.
I, the Lord, have said it and I will do it.”
Second lecture
Reading of the second letter of the Apostle Saint Paul to the Corinthians
2 Cor 5, 6-10
Brothers: We always have confidence, although we know that, while we live in the body, we are exiled, far from the Lord. We walk guided by faith, without yet seeing. We are, therefore, full of confidence and we prefer to leave this body to live with the Lord. That is why we try to please him, in exile or in the homeland. Because we will all have to appear before the judgment seat of Christ, to receive the reward or punishment for what we have done in this life.
Gospel for Sunday June 16
Reading of the holy Gospel according to Saint Mark
Mark 4, 26-34
At that time, Jesus said to the crowd: “The Kingdom of God is like what happens when a man sows seed in the ground: the nights and days pass, and without him knowing how, the seed germinates and it grows; and the earth, by itself, produces the fruit: first the stems, then the ears, and then the grains in the ears. And when the grains are ripe, the man takes hold of the sickle, because the time of harvest has arrived.”
He also told them: “With what shall we compare the Kingdom of God? With what parable can we represent it? It is like a mustard seed that, when sown, is the smallest of seeds; But once planted, it grows and becomes the largest of bushes and puts out branches so large that birds can nest in its shade.”
And with many other similar parables he explained his message to them, according to what they could understand. And he did not speak to them except in parables; But he explained everything privately to his disciples.
Words from the Holy Father for this Saturday, June 15
Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed. It is a very small seed, and yet it develops so much that it becomes the largest of all the plants in the garden: an unpredictable, surprising growth. It is not easy for us to enter into this logic of God’s unpredictability and accept it in our lives. But today the Lord exhorts us to an attitude of faith that surpasses our projects, our calculations, our forecasts. God is always the God of surprises. The Lord always surprises us. It is an invitation to open ourselves more generously to God’s plans, both on a personal and community level. In our communities it is necessary to pay attention to the small and large occasions of good that the Lord offers us, allowing ourselves to be involved in his dynamics of love, welcome and mercy towards all. The authenticity of the Church’s mission is not given by success or by the gratification of the results, but by moving forward with the courage of trust and the humility of abandonment in God. Go forward in the confession of Jesus and with the strength of the Holy Spirit. It is the awareness of being small and weak instruments, which in the hands of God and with his grace can accomplish great works, advancing his Kingdom, which is “justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14, 17). (Angelus, June 17, 2018)
Source: Vatican Site
