St. Mary's Catholic Church of Tomahawk, WI

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

We are in the sixteenth ordinary Sunday of year A. The first reading emphasizes divine mercy. It is beautifully presented in legal rhetoric with the purpose of bringing the audience to repent and turn to God. Despite the horrible crimes and grievous misdeeds of the Canaanites, God showed them mercy. He is mighty, caring, the sovereign king, and the source of justice. He invites us to repent, to be just, and to be kind and merciful.

The second reading provides encouragement for those struggling to remain faithful due to suffering and persecution. It stresses that we are not alone in the midst of our struggles but the Holy Spirit is with us to help us in our weakness. This weakness could be at times of a struggle, not knowing how to pray. In a way praying is a battle of its own. In those moments, it is the Holy Spirit who perfects our prayers, who searches our hearts.

In the Gospel we hear three parables of the growth of the kingdom of God. The parable of the weeds is explained, where a man who sowed good seed in his field discovers the treachery of his enemy who came at night and sowed weeds. Since the presence of weeds was detected late, the man allows both to grow until the day of the harvest. The message of the parable is to patiently wait for the day of judgement, to sort out the wheat from the weeds. What kind of seeds do we sow, grow and reap to build the Kingdom of God?

Fr. Aloysius Royan Anthony