Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
Introduction
A humble Capuchin friar, born in 1887 and who entered the order at the age of 15, St. Pio, better known as Padre Pio to many of his spiritual children, received the stigmata in 1910 and bore the wounds of Christ for more than half a century. Through his priestly ministry and pastoral zeal, many were healed both spiritual and physical. With the help of modern communication, news of the wounds he was bearing reached the whole world, bringing many to seek him for prayer and counsel. He died on September 23, 1968 in Pietrelcina, and was canonized on June 16, 2002.
Opening Prayer
God, our merciful Father,
you willed the fullness of humanity
through the wounds of your Son.
You granted St. Pio of Pietrelcina
the grace to bear those same wounds
to witness to your Son’s love and suffering
for us, your daughters and sons.
Grant that we too, may bear witness
to your loving kindness and mercy
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Reading 1: 1 Tm 6:13-16
I charge you before God, who gives life to all things,
and before Christ Jesus,
who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate
for the noble confession,
to keep the commandment without stain or reproach
until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ
that the blessed and only ruler
will make manifest at the proper time,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,
and whom no human being has seen or can see.
To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm: Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4, 5
Sing joyfully to the LORD all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
For he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Alleluia: See Lk 8:15
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel: Lk 8:4-15
journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable.
“A sower went out to sow his seed.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled,
and the birds of the sky ate it up.
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew,
it withered for lack of moisture.
Some seed fell among thorns,
and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew,
it produced fruit a hundredfold.”
After saying this, he called out,
“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
Then his disciples asked him
what the meaning of this parable might be.
He answered,
“Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God
has been granted to you;
but to the rest, they are made known through parables
so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.
“This is the meaning of the parable.
The seed is the word of God.
Those on the path are the ones who have heard,
but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts
that they may not believe and be saved.
Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear,
receive the word with joy, but they have no root;
they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation.
As for the seed that fell among thorns,
they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along,
they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life,
and they fail to produce mature fruit.
But as for the seed that fell on rich soil,
they are the ones who, when they have heard the word,
embrace it with a generous and good heart,
and bear fruit through perseverance.”
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God,
let this offering of bread and wine
be the living sign of your Son’s abiding presence
with your people.
Help us through these gifts
to become a community united in love and concern.
May we become witness to his presence
to our sisters and brothers
by our loving concern for them,
even as they are loved
by Jesus, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
we thank you for your Son, Jesus,
and ask you on the feast of St. Pio of Pietrelcina
to grant us the courage and the strength
to share in the suffering of our sisters and brothers.
Help us to be firmly rooted in our faith,
that our community may be a living sign of hope
to those who have not come to the light of your salvation.
May we bring solace and comfort
to those in distress and discouragement.
We ask this through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Blessing
Let the seed of God’s Word fall in the good soil of our eager and receptive hearts, and may Almighty God bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Reflection:
September 23; 24th Saturday in Ordinary Time
1Tim 6:13-16 and Lk 8:4-15
Listen, meditate and act
Four types of soil where the seed was sowed and we have four types of responses. Similarly, we have also four types of persons on whose heart the word of God is sown. a) There are some Christians who come to the Church only to receive the sacraments. They are like the seeds fell on the way. The word of God does not fall often in their hearts and the little that falls does not bear fruits at all. b) Then, we have those who come to the Church regularly for all the feasts like Christmas, Easter, etc. besides receiving the sacraments. They are like the seeds fell on the rocky land. Though they receive the word of God now and then, they are not properly interiorized. So, they too fail to bear the fruits expected of them. c) Thirdly, there are some who are very regular for all the Sunday and even week day masses besides festivals. They are like the seeds fell among the thorns. In fact, they have great desire to live a life according to God’s word. But unfortunately, they are so engrossed with pleasures, possessions and worldly attraction that they fail to bear much fruit. d) Finally, there are a few Christians who participate in all the Church programs not as duty but as moments of God experience and encounter with Jesus. They are like the seeds fell on the good soil. They listen, meditate and act according to the Word of God and thus bearing fruits of the Holy Spirit in their lives. What type of Christian am I?