FIRST READING
“He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
A reading from the Letter to the Hebrews (Hebrews 10:11-18)
Every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, then to wait until his enemies should be made a stool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their misdeeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.
The word of the Lord.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm 110:1.2.3.4 (R. 4cd)
R. You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek
The Lord’s revelation to my lord:
“Sit at my right hand,
until I make your foes your footstool.” R.
The Lord will send from Sion
your sceptre of power:
rule in the midst of your foes. R.
R. You are a priest forever, in the line of Melchizedek
With you is princely rule
on the day of your power.
In holy splendour,
from the womb before the dawn,
I have begotten you. R.
The Lord has sworn an oath
he will not change:
“You are a priest forever,
in the line of Melchizedek.” R.
ALLELUIA
Alleluia, The seed is the word of God, and the sower is Christ; all who find him will abide for ever. Alleluia.
GOSPEL
“A sower went out to sow.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 4: 1-20)
At that time: Again Jesus began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” And when he was alone, those who were about him with the Twelve asked him concerning the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables; so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven.” And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown; when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which is sown in them. And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
Today’s Reflection
The incomparable and most efficacious nature of Christ’s priesthood is a strong pillar of our faith. He did what no priest of old could do. Repetition of the sin offering of old shows that what was done in the past was not perfect. It is only the sacrifice of Christ that achieved eternal perfection and needed no repetition. In the Sacrifice of the Mass we commemorate what Christ has already finished and need not be repeated. His sacrifice make the devil a footstool and assured our salvation. As we come to Jesus in to liturgy, let us allow the word we receive to bear good fruit. May we work to remove any form of inhibition to yielding of the desired fruit.