July 31, 2012
Tuesday
St. Ignatius of Loyola, Priest (Memorial)
by Rev. Fr. Paul Marquez
Greenbelt
First Reading: Jeremiah 14:17-22
Psalm: Psalm 79:8-9, 11, 13
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." 37 He answered, "He who sows the good seed is the Son of man; 38 the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the close of the age. 41 The Son of man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42 and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
HOMILY
Looking at the Gospel on the parable of the weeds in the field, let us pray for the grace to be ‘good crops’ always, despite the bad crops around us – worldly lures, temptations – and even those that are within us – bad thoughts, anger, ill and negativities – which try to overpower the good crops in us. Let us remember that God is always with us, to guide us, help us and make us triumph against evil.
Let us also pray for sinners, those who have hurt us or caused us harm. We have to be patient with them, as God has been patient with them. Like us, they too are given the chance to change and grow into good crops again before God makes His harvesting.
