Daily Reading & Meditation
Wednesday (1/28): "Those who hear the word and accept it, bear fruit a hundredfold"
Scripture: Mark 4:1-20
1 Again he 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. 2 And he taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 "Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; 6 and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." 9 And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 10 And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve asked him concerning the parables. 11 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; 12 so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven." 13 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 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. 16 And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 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. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, 19 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. 20 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."
Meditation: What does the parable about seeds and roots say to us about the kingdom of God? Any farmer will attest to the importance of good soil for supplying nutrients for growth. And how does a plant get the necessary food and water it needs except by its roots? The scriptures frequently use the image of fruit-bearing plants or trees to convey the principle of spiritual life and death. Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit (Jeremiah 17:7-8; see also Psalm 1:3)
Jesus' parable of the sower is aimed at the hearers of his word. There are different ways of accepting God's word and they produce different kinds of fruit accordingly. There is the prejudiced hearer who has a shut mind. Such a person is unteachable and blind to what he or she doesn't want to hear. Then there is the shallow hearer. He or she fails to think things out or think them through; they lack depth. They may initially respond with an emotional reaction; but when it wears off their mind wanders to something else. Another type of hearer is the person who has many interests or cares, but who lacks the ability to hear or comprehend what is truly important. Such a person is too busy to pray or too preoccupied to study and meditate on God's word. Then there is the one whose mind is open. Such a person is at all times willing to listen and to learn. He or she is never too proud or too busy to learn. They listen in order to understand. God gives grace to those who hunger for his word that they may understand his will and have the strength to live according to it. Do you hunger for God's word?
"Lord Jesus, faith in your word is the way to wisdom, and to ponder your divine plan is to grow in the truth. Open my eyes to your deeds, and my ears to the sound of your call, that I may understand your will for my life and live according to it".
Psalm 89:4-5, 27-29
4 `I will establish your descendants for ever, and build your throne for all generations.'" [Selah]
5 Let the heavens praise thy wonders, O LORD, thy faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones!
27 And I will make him the first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth.
28 My steadfast love I will keep for him for ever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.
29 I will establish his line for ever and his throne as the days of the heavens.
Daily Reading & Meditation
Thursday (1/29): "The measure you give will be the measure you get"
Scripture: Mark 4:21-25
21 And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. 23 If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." 24 And he said to them, "Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. 25 For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
Meditation: What does the image of light and a lamp tell us about God's kingdom? Lamps in the ancient world served a vital function, much like they do today. They enable people to see and work in the dark and to avoid stumbling. The Jews also understood "light" as an expression of the inner beauty, truth, and goodness of God. In his light we see light ( Psalm 36:9). His word is a lamp that guides our steps (Psalm 119:105). God's grace not only illumines the darkness in our lives, but it also fills us with spiritual light, joy, and peace. Jesus used the image of a lamp to describe how his disciples are to live in the light of his truth and love. Just as natural light illumines the darkness and enables one to see visually, so the light of Christ shines in the hearts of believers and enables us to see the heavenly reality of God's kingdom. In fact, our mission is to be light-bearers of Christ so that others may see the truth of the gospel and be freed from the blindness of sin and deception.
Jesus remarks that nothing can remain hidden or secret. We can try to hide things from others, from ourselves, and from God. How tempting to shut our eyes from the consequences of our sinful ways and bad habits, even when we know what those consequences are. And how tempting to hide them from others and even from God. But, nonetheless, everything is known to God who sees all. There is great freedom and joy for those who live in God's light and who seek this truth. Those who listen to God and heed his voice will receive more from him. Do you know the joy and freedom of living in God's light?
"Lord Jesus, you guide me by the light of your saving truth. Fill my heart and mind with your light and truth and free me from the blindness of sin and deception that I may see your ways clearly and understand your will for my life. May I radiate your light and truth to others in word and deed."
Psalm 132:1-5, 11-14
1 Remember, O LORD, in David's favor, all the hardships he endured;
2 how he swore to the LORD and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3 "I will not enter my house or get into my bed;
4 I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids,
5 until I find a place for the LORD, a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob."
11 The LORD swore to David a sure oath from which he will not turn back: "One of the sons of your body I will set on your throne.
12 If your sons keep my covenant and my testimonies which I shall teach them, their sons also for ever shall sit upon your throne."
13 For the LORD has chosen Zion; he has desired it for his habitation:
14 "This is my resting place for ever; here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
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(c) 2009 Don Schwager
Street Talking
Last week’s March for Life was an incredible postlude to the Presidential Inauguration. The March for Life continued the tradition of the Civil Rights marches. I just wish the rest of the country would see that rights should be afforded to all people starting at conception in their mother’s womb.
For me, the March for Life is always bittersweet. It’s an incredible time to join with thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of people who joyfully and prayerfully are witness to the sanctity of human life. Quite frankly, the people make it lots of fun.
Sadly, the reason so many have congregated in front of the Supreme Court every year, for the past 36 years, is because the American government, especially the current President, ferociously promotes the legality of abortion to the point of making it seem morally acceptable.
On the day after the March for Life, President Obama kept his shameful promise and lifted an abortion ban in order to use American tax payer money to pay for abortions in other countries. Couldn’t taxpayer money be used for something less divisive? Our money could be put to good use by supporting families or feeding the poor.
Is this debate a political or moral concern? And how does this current President’s horrible decision affect our Grace Before Meals family? I feel it’s an important responsibility to inform our family of some of the dangerous anti-life agenda of our current president.
The incredible number of people who march every year should tell the president that his decision to support infanticide and abortion hurts our Grace Before Meals family very much. Unfortunately the media outlets are consistently silent about this annual gathering. Politicians don’t even show up for work on the day of the march because they know pro-lifers will visit them at their Senate offices. It seems the only way to communicate with this administration is to use “street talk.” We must let our feet do the talking. That’s why we hit the streets with signs, songs, and prayers each year. This picture was taken in the Verizon Center, where 26,000 people packed the place for the Mass prior to the March for Life.
During the march, I conducted recorded interviews and provided some commentary for a new group called LifeHQ.org. Please visit and register with them to get more information on how we can walk the talk every day of the year.
Throughout the day, many people stopped me to voice their appreciation for Grace Before Meals. Some recognized me from my regular Friday appearances on the Sirius and XM radio show “Catholics Next Door.” Several others stopped to thank us for the good work we’re doing to support families. Everyone I met was in agreement about our need to transform culture. The best way to support family life is to uphold the dignity of human life, especially the most vulnerable among us.
Some of the camera crew and producers were astounded to see so many people come out for this annual event. Even though they are media savvy, they admitted they never heard anything in the news about this popular, positive event. And, when they do hear about the March for Life, the news portrays participants as extremists. That’s hardly the case. This is one of the most peaceful, joyful, and prayerful protests in this country. In fact, each march begins with prayer the night before.
If we don’t tell the message in a beautiful and convincing way, the media will either tell it for us with all their bias, or they will choose to ignore the story for fear that it doesn’t fit with their imbalanced agenda. We can’t restrict the pro-life message to prayerful thoughts. It requires action. We need to take this message out on the streets, just like the Civil Rights Movement.
I’m not suggesting we patrol the streets in bully-like fashion. I’m suggesting that we walk the talk. If we really care about families, then we need to make sure we care enough to take a day to commemorate where families begin: in the womb. Be sure and come to March for Life 2010.
Last Tuesday, President Obama’s Inauguration drew almost record-breaking crowds of people. World Youth Day in the Philippines a few years ago trumps that number by more than double. There are more pro-lifers than pro-abortionists (they are incorrectly called pro-choice). If they all came to America for our March for Life, we would show the world that we’re walking the talk. We need to make sure our Grace Before Meals family learns language the press and politicians understand. If the March for Life continues to grow to record numbers (and believe me we were at least 100,000 strong this year), I know our public servants will listen to our “street talk.”
Street Food
Street talk requires street smarts, and street smarts can lead to great street food. If you want great local flavors take a trip to New York City. While on the March for Life, I briefly ran into Mike Campo, one of the producers with Grassroots Films.
It made me think of some of the great foods I have whenever I’m in New York.
I don’t go to big expensive places. Instead, I usually sample the local flavors of Chinatown or Little Italy in their small neighborhood restaurants.
When I was in Hawaii this past December, I stopped by a booth selling traditional Korean barbecue called Galbi Pork Ribs. This isn’t your ordinary street food! Click here for the recipe
Prayer for Life & Our Public Servants
Make your prayer heard from the rooftops and on the streets. Write your local politicians and tell them to throw out the proposed FOCA law. It’s a horrible law that literally kills babies who survived an abortion. We need our senators to create laws that protect life – not destroy it. This law states that even though the baby is delivered (out of their mother’s womb) and fully alive, hospitals and abortion clinics are allowed to commit infanticide. Your prayers and support are needed. Let your politicians know what’s in your heart. Don’t be afraid to let your “street talk” be heard!
Let us Pray: Father in Heaven, help our public leaders understand the first right we have as humans is the right to life. Change the hearts and minds of our elected leaders, as well as all those who vote for pro-abortion candidates – either with or without fully understanding all of the moral implications of their laws. May our prayers be taken to the streets so that we can truly bless our world with families who welcome from the womb to the arms of loving parents. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Ask Fr. Leo for fatherly advice.
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