Sunday:       15 TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Date:         JULY 11, 1999
Year:         A
The readings: [Is. 55:10-1; Rom. 8:18-19, 23; Mt. 13:1-23]
The message:  TO YOU IT HAS BEEN GIVEN TO KNOW THE SECRETS.
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  1234

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Brothers and sisters, after giving the Parable of the Sower to the crowd, Jesus said to His disciples, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven but to them it has not been given." [Mt. 13:10] To the disciples it was meant that they know the way to the Kingdom of God because they were blessed. They had eyes that saw and ears that heard. Others, having dull hearts, listened but did not understand. They looked but they did not perceive.

When you hear the Word of God, do you really hear it in your heart? Do you see the work of God all around you or is everything coincidental to you as it is to many who are apart from us?

Through Isaiah, God promised that His Word, Jesus, would not return to Him empty handed. Jesus would accomplish what the Heavenly Father planned, succeeding in the things for which He was sent.

The whole creation, the physical world, the angels of God, the Heavenly saints and all those who walk the living faith, await the glory of God that is to come, the days when the children of God shall inherit the eternal Kingdom. Creation as you see it today, decaying in all things, comes nowhere near reflecting the future glory that God has planned for those He loves, those who have answered His call to live in righteousness. Those who's eyes are opened and who's ears hear the Word of God, they know the secrets of the Kingdom of God.

They know that the sufferings of the present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed. They know that God makes good things come out of everything. They know that, the present sufferings that must be endured in perseverance, serve the purpose of sanctifying the soul. In all things, they see the hand of God at work as a disciplining Father who teaches His loved children how to become holy children, they being trained to become the first fruits of the Spirit.

In faith, those who have answered their calls, groan inwardly while they wait for the day of adoption when the redemption of the bodies shall take place, when at the twinkle of an eye, all shall be transformed, receiving incorruptible bodies in the glory of Christ.

Jesus said, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears for they hear." Many of the prophets and righteous people of the Old Testament longed to see what they saw, but did not see it. They longed to hear what the disciples heard but did not hear it. You, my brothers and sisters in Christ, are privileged as the disciples of Jesus were privileged. They saw the arrival of the Kingdom of God on earth; today, you are living in the Kingdom of God through your new birth that you have received during the Sacrament of Baptism. The disciples saw the physical presence of Jesus in bodily form; today, you enjoy the presence of Jesus in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and in the Blessed Tabernacle.

The disciples enjoyed the company of Jesus. Today, you are enjoying His company in the mystery of the Holy Mass that is a reflection of the great spiritual Feast that is taking place where your spirits are in the presence of Jesus, the angels and all the saints of Heaven.

While those of the Old Testament had to make daily sacrifices of animals to maintain their righteousness in the eyes of God, you have received your first righteousness during the Sacrament of Baptism at which time the original sin was forgiven and all your personal sins committed prior to receiving the Sacrament. You have the opportunity to receive your ongoing righteousness through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. You have the opportunity to inherit the Kingdom of God through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, the Living Bread that our brothers and sisters who lived in the days of the Old Testament did not have prior to the coming of Jesus on earth.

These are the truths that the Holy Mother Church teaches you every day. These are truths that require a spiritual heart in order to understand them. They require faith in what is unseen in the blessed hope of things to come.

There are some who hear these truths and they do not understand them because they are worldly minded. They are not spiritually minded. The evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in their hearts. For them, there will be no eternal life in the Kingdom of God because they have not made the sincere efforts to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God.

Then, there are some who hear the truths and immediately receives them with joy. Not pursuing their spiritual growth, they have no root. They only endure for a while. When trouble or persecution arises because of controversies over the Word of God, the Bible, the Church, the Pope, the priesthood, marriage and divorce or even abortion, they immediately fall away. They too are lost for eternity.

There are some who hear the truths but they prefer to choose their love of the temporary pleasures and wealth of the world. While the Spirit of God speaks to them in their hearts, reminding them that they are not living their faith in Christ, they block out the Word of God. They produce nothing. They have nothing. And they will have nothing in the eternal life to come.

There are some who have heard the truths since the days of their early childhood. They had good Christian parents who followed through on their obligation to raise them in the faith of the Holy Church. They grew in their faith until such time as they could walk alone. They longed for the Word of God. They loved the Word of God. They understood the secrets of the Kingdom of God and by the grace of the Heavenly Father and the power of the Holy Spirit, they persevered in their living faith and hope in the likeness of Jesus Christ. These Christians shined in the fruit of the Holy Spirit. They produce much charity for the glory of God. Their entire lives were lives of spiritual growth, bearing fruit after fruit. To them belongs the Kingdom of God, they being worthy to be called children of the holy priesthood because they were as living stones.

My brothers and sisters, God said through His prophet Isaiah that the Word that goes out from His mouth shall not return to Him empty. As you bear witness from what you see around you, truly, the Kingdom of God that has been instituted by Jesus Christ through the Holy Catholic Church. It has grown as a large tree with its branches reaching every nations of the world. This visible work through the ministry of Jesus and the Holy Spirit is the secret of the Kingdom of God.

Through the Sacrament of Baptism, you have entered into the secrets of the Kingdom of God. Now, you are called to live your faith, hope and love in the secrets of the Kingdom of God. You are called to bear much fruit as children of God so you may inherit your eternal rewards, being glorified in Jesus Christ.

My hope is that you will be counted among those who will return to the Heavenly Father as the Bride of Jesus. My joy will be complete when I see this fulfillment.

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall the word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it." [Is. 55:10-1]

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Second Reading...

"I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; ... not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies." [Rom. 8:18-19, 23]

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Gospel Reading...

"That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: 'Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Let anyone with ears listen!' Then, the disciples came and asked him, 'Why do you speak to them in parables?' He answered, 'To you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. The reason I speak to them in parables is that 'seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.'" [Mt. 13:1-23]

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