Fr Kevin Kilgore

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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.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Telemachus was one of the early Christian hermits, who spent his life alone in the desert. One day while praying, however, he felt God calling him to Rome.

There he made his way to the Colosseum, where he witnessed gladiators notoriously fighting to their death while bloodthirsty crowds cheered them on.

He was horrified.

Telemachus literally jumped into the arena and tried physically separating the gladiators. People started throwing stones at him, but he kept pushing these men apart until he was finally stoned to death.

When the emperor got word of Telemachus’ story, he was so moved that he ended the gladiator games.

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Telemachus became like the mustard seed in today’s Gospel. He was the smallest of seeds, the most unimportant of people, but he changed an entire culture. 

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That’s the story of Jesus, too. One death changed the course of human history.

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It’s also the story of the Church.

What began with the Twelve Apostles has exploded into a community of more than 1 billion Catholics. That’s a growth of more than 1 million percent!

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What does this say to us?

Just one life dedicated to Christ can change an entire parish; a family; a culture; even the course of human history. 

May we see ourselves like mustard seeds – a force to be reckoned with. 

Telemachus, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) Foundation for Economic Education (2) Gladiator, Britannica (3) Parable of the Mustard Seed, First15

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Gospel: Matthew 13: 18-23

Jesus said to his disciples:

“Hear the parable of the sower.
The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom
without understanding it,
and the Evil One comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There are different ways of accepting the Word of God. The fruit it bears depends on a person’s heart.

In the Gospel today, the same Word is spoken to different listeners. Some receive it without understanding; the Evil One whispers lies in their heart, stealing what was sown.

Others receive the Word with joy, but their faith lacks any root. Once a trial comes their way, their faith is the first thing to go.

Others receive the Word, but prefer the things of this world to the things that are eternal.

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Finally, there are those whose hearts are like rich, fertile soil. They hear the Word and are permanently changed by it.

But consider the effort it takes to make soil fertile – and by extension, a human heart open to the Word of God.

In order to make soil fertile, you must dig into it; break it; and repeatedly separate it. That period of chaos is what opens the ground, allowing it to receive seeds, and ultimately, to give life.

Any sturdy plant was once a tiny seed placed inside broken, fertile soil.

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What does this mean for us?

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Our hearts are most fertile after being broken. 

Think of any stressful, frustrating, or traumatic experience. In those moments, it feels like we’ve been tossed about – broken inside – much like rich, fertile soil.

They are blessed, Jesus says, the ones who turn to him in that hour. It’s then that the Word of God has the greatest chance to take deep root within us, to change us, and to bear good fruit.

As Saint Paul says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

These gifts come from within; they’re the fruit of a broken heart receptive to the Word of God.

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How receptive am I to the Word of God? 

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“The seed sown on rich soil,” Jesus says, “is the one who hears and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

May we turn to the Lord in our darkest hours, knowing that when we’re broken, the Word has the greatest potential to take root within, transforming us for the better.

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Image credits: (1) Tumblr, Amazing Inspirational Quotes (2) TechCrunch (3) Iowa Agriculture Literacy

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Gospel: John 20: 1-2, 11-18

On the first day of the week,
Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning,
while it was still dark,
and saw the stone removed from the tomb.
So she ran and went to Simon Peter
and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,
“They have taken the Lord from the tomb,
and we don’t know where they put him.” 

Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping.
And as she wept, she bent over into the tomb
and saw two angels in white sitting there,
one at the head and one at the feet
where the Body of Jesus had been.
And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?”
She said to them, “They have taken my Lord,
and I don’t know where they laid him.”
When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,
but did not know it was Jesus.
Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?
Whom are you looking for?”
She thought it was the gardener and said to him,
“Sir, if you carried him away,
tell me where you laid him,
and I will take him.”
Jesus said to her, “Mary!”
She turned and said to him in Hebrew,
“Rabbouni,” which means Teacher.
Jesus said to her,
“Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.
But go to my brothers and tell them,
‘I am going to my Father and your Father,
to my God and your God.’”
Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples,
“I have seen the Lord,”
and then reported what he told her.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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I admire Mary Magdalene so much in this Gospel passage. She represents a soul entirely possessed with love for God.

When she reaches the empty tomb, she’s overwhelmed with anxiety: “They have taken away my Lord!” she says.

“Where did they lay him? Where could he be? Give him to me!” she says frantically. 

She tells everyone she sees that Jesus is gone. She tells Peter and John; she tells the angels in the tomb; she even tells Jesus himself, whom she mistakes for a gardener.

“Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you laid him, and I will take him.”

Mary is so preoccupied with finding Jesus that she doesn’t even mention his name. She presumes that everyone is in the same state of mind that she is; that everyone is looking for “him”; that everyone cares about “him” as much as she does.

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Mary shows us that, when love of God takes possession of a soul, there is no longer room in it for contrary loves or desires. Everything becomes directed towards God and his glory.

Nothing else – and no one else – is enough. 

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Like Mary Magdalene, is our soul consumed entirely with love for God? Or are there competing desires lingering in our heart?

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May Mary Magdalene, the first person to see the Risen Lord, intercede on our behalf, that one day the whole world will be consumed with love for Christ.

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Image credits: (1) Alexander Andreyevich Ivanov, Appearance of Jesus Christ to Maria Magdalena (2) JW.org (3) Christ Risen from the Tomb, Borgogne