Daily Shots

Mt 13:18-23 Jesus said to his disciples:“Hear the parable of the sower.The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdomwithout understanding it,and the Evil One comes and steals awaywhat was sown in his heart.The seed sown on rocky groundis the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.But he has no root and lasts only for a time.When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,he immediately falls away.The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the wordand it bears no fruit.But the seed sown on rich soilis the one who hears the word and understands it,who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”

Mt 20:20-28 The mother of the sons of Zebedee approached Jesus with her sonsand did him homage, wishing to ask him for something.He said to her,"What do you wish?"She answered him,"Command that these two sons of mine sit,one at your right and the other at your left, in your Kingdom."Jesus said in reply,"You do not know what you are asking.Can you drink the chalice that I am going to drink?"They said to him, "We can."He replied,"My chalice you will indeed drink,but to sit at my right and at my left, this is not mine to givebut is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father."When the ten heard this,they became indignant at the two brothers.But Jesus summoned them and said,"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,and the great ones make their authority over them felt.But it shall not be so among you.Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your servant;whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave.Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be servedbut to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Mt 13:1-9 On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.Such large crowds gathered around himthat he got into a boat and sat down,and the whole crowd stood along the shore.And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:“A sower went out to sow.And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,and birds came and ate it up.Some 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.But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Mt 12:46-50 While Jesus was speaking to the crowds,his mother and his brothers appeared outside,wishing to speak with him.Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside,asking to speak with you.”But he said in reply to the one who told him,“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said,“Here are my mother and my brothers.For whoever does the will of my heavenly Fatheris my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Jn 20:1-2, 11-18 On the first day of the week,Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early in the morning,while it was still dark,and saw the stone removed from the tomb.So she ran and went to Simon Peterand to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them,"They have taken the Lord from the tomb,and we don't know where they put him."Mary stayed outside the tomb weeping.And as she wept, she bent over into the tomband saw two angels in white sitting there,one at the head and one at the feetwhere the Body of Jesus had been.And they said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?"She said to them, "They have taken my Lord,and I don't know where they laid him."When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus there,but did not know it was Jesus.Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?Whom are you looking for?"She thought it was the gardener and said to him,"Sir, if you carried him away,tell me where you laid him,and I will take him."Jesus said to her, "Mary!"She turned and said to him in Hebrew,"Rabbouni," which means Teacher.Jesus said to her,"Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.But go to my brothers and tell them,'I am going to my Father and your Father,to my God and your God.'"Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples,"I have seen the Lord,"and then reported what he told her.

Mt 12:1-8 Jesus was going through a field of grain on the sabbath.His disciples were hungryand began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.When the Pharisees saw this, they said to him,"See, your disciples are doing what is unlawful to do on the sabbath."He said to the them, "Have you not read what David didwhen he and his companions were hungry,how he went into the house of God and ate the bread of offering,which neither he nor his companionsbut only the priests could lawfully eat?Or have you not read in the law that on the sabbaththe priests serving in the temple violate the sabbathand are innocent?I say to you, something greater than the temple is here.If you knew what this meant, I desire mercy, not sacrifice,you would not have condemned these innocent men.For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."

Mt 11:28-30 Jesus said:"Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,for I am meek and humble of heart;and you will find rest for yourselves.For my yoke is easy, and my burden light."

Mt 11:25-27 At that time Jesus exclaimed:“I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,for although you have hidden these thingsfrom the wise and the learnedyou have revealed them to the childlike.Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will.All things have been handed over to me by my Father.No one knows the Son except the Father,and no one knows the Father except the Sonand anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”

Mt 11:20-24 Jesus began to reproach the townswhere most of his mighty deeds had been done,since they had not repented.“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!For if the mighty deeds done in your midsthad been done in Tyre and Sidon,they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.But I tell you, it will be more tolerablefor Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.And as for you, Capernaum:Will you be exalted to heaven?You will go down to the nether world.For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,it would have remained until this day.But I tell you, it will be more tolerablefor the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

Mt 10:34-11:1 Jesus said to his Apostles:“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.I have come to bring not peace but the sword.For I have come to seta man against his father,a daughter against her mother,and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;and one’s enemies will be those of his household. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;and whoever does not take up his crossand follow after me is not worthy of me.Whoever finds his life will lose it,and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. “Whoever receives you receives me,and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophetwill receive a prophet’s reward,and whoever receives a righteous manbecause he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward.And whoever gives only a cup of cold waterto one of these little ones to drinkbecause he is a disciple–amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.