A typical harvest of grain in the time of Jesus would be a sevenfold to eightfold yield. A hundredfold yield of grain could not possibly be attributed to the skill of the farmer or the fertility of the land. Jesus' hearers would have understood that only the sheer grace of God could produce a hundredfold harvest.
Our approach to our daily reading of Scripture can resemble that of the Israelites who gathered the manna that God provided for decades in the desert (Ex 16:14ff). Many Israelites surely gathered it routinely year after year, seeing the miraculous food appear without perceiving; hearing others around them in the desert picking up their daily miracle from heaven without understanding (Lk 8:10). A normal routine of Scripture reading may not produce a hundredfold harvest, but rather the typical sevenfold or eightfold harvest that the Word of God automatically produces "of itself" (see Mk 4:28). If, by our own efforts, we are truly open to the Holy Spirit in our daily Scripture reading (Lk 8:15), perhaps we can increase the harvest to thirty or sixtyfold (Mt 13:8).
We at Presentation Ministries write One Bread, One Body to encourage you to read the daily Eucharistic readings before Mass. We encourage you to attend Mass daily, if possible, for at Holy Mass we are in the environment of miracles. Day by day, in the Eucharistic presence of Jesus, let's expectantly ask Him to open our ears (Is 50:4). God will transform us and we will see an astounding, miraculous, hundredfold or greater harvest.
| PRAYER: | Father, I tremble at Your Word (Is 66:2). |
| PROMISE: | "To you the mysteries of the reign of God have been confided." –Lk 8:10 |
| PRAISE: | St. Januarius was martyred during Emperor Diocletian's persecution. His relics are preserved in Naples, Italy. Vials of his blood still regularly liquefy, defying natural explanation. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College