The kingdom of God is available to you in the here and the now. But the question is whether you are available to the kingdom.

"The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or, 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst." - Jesus

Gospel Text: (MK 4:26-34)

Jesus said to the crowds:
“This is how it is with the Kingdom of God;
it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land
and would sleep and rise night and day
and the seed would sprout and grow,
he knows not how.
Of its own accord the land yields fruit,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once,
for the harvest has come.”

He said,
“To what shall we compare the Kingdom of God,
or what parable can we use for it?
It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground,
is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.
But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants
and puts forth large branches,
so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
With many such parables
he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it.
Without parables he did not speak to them,
but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.

Reflect, today, upon the incredible potential that God has placed within your soul.  He made you with the intention to bring forth His Kingdom through you and to do so in an abundant way.  It is your responsibility to simply believe this and to allow God to do what He desires to do in your life.

“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”

“Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think.” ― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: (1807 – 1882: was an American poet and educator)

Gospel Text: (MK 4:21-25)

Jesus said to his disciples,
“Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket
or under a bed,
and not to be placed on a lampstand?
For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible;
nothing is secret except to come to light.
Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.”
He also told them, “Take care what you hear.
The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you,
and still more will be given to you.
To the one who has, more will be given;
from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

Reflect, today, upon your own calling to a life of abundant generosity.  There are countless ways that you are called to be generous toward others.  Commit yourself to this life of goodness and then anticipate all that God will pour forth upon you.

I think nobody alive today is a more powerful agent of conversion than someone like Mother Teresa. You can refute arguments but not her life. – It is our example that will change the world not our arguments….Only saints change the world

If conversion makes no improvements in a man's outward actions then I think his 'conversion' was largely imaginary. - C. S. Lewis: (1898 – 1963: was a British writer and lay theologian.)

Gospel Text: (MK 4:1-20)

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables,
and in the course of his instruction he said to them,
“Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.
And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

And when he was alone,
those present along with the Twelve
questioned him about the parables.
He answered them,
“The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you.
But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that
they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.”

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no roots; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

Reflect, today, upon the mission you have been given by Christ to spread His Word.  Say “Yes” to that mission and then look for ways, each and every day, to sow His Word.  Expect much of the effort you give to unfortunately bear little fruit in a manifest way.  However, have deep hope and confidence in the fact that some of that seed will reach the soil that our Lord desires it to reach.  Commit yourself to the sowing; God will worry about the rest.

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“Obedience is the thing, living in active response to the living God. The most important question we ask of this text is not, 'What does this mean?' but 'What can I obey?'

One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer: (1906 – 1945: was anti-Nazi dissident)

Gospel Text: (MK 3:31-35)

The mother of Jesus and his brothers arrived at the house.
Standing outside, they sent word to Jesus and called him.
A crowd seated around him told him,
“Your mother and your brothers and your sisters
are outside asking for you.”
But he said to them in reply,
“Who are my mother and my brothers?”
And looking around at those seated in the circle he said,
“Here are my mother and my brothers.
For whoever does the will of God
is my brother and sister and mother.”

Reflect, today, upon the fact that you, too, are called to be a member of the intimate family of Jesus.  You are called into His family through your obedience to His holy will.  You are called to be attentive, listen, understand and then act on all that He speaks.  Say “Yes” to our Lord, this day, and allow that “Yes” to be the foundation of your familial relationship with Him.