20 September 2025 (Saturday) / Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Priest, and Paul Chong Hasang, and their Companions, Martyrs on Saturday of week 24 in Ordinary Time / Memorial of Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs

20 September 2025 (Saturday)

Saints Andrew Kim Taegon, Priest, and Paul Chong Hasang, and their Companions, Martyrs on Saturday of week 24 in Ordinary Time.

Memorial of Saint Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Priest, and Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: First Timothy 6: 13-16
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 100: 1b-2, 3, 4, 5
Alleluia: Luke 8: 15
Gospel: Luke 8: 4-15

First Reading : 1 Timothy 6:13‐16

Before God the source of all life and before Christ, who spoke up as a witness for the truth in front of Pontius Pilate, I put to you the duty of doing all that you have been told, with no faults or failures, until the Appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who at the due time will be revealed by God, the blessed and only Ruler of all, the King of kings and the Lord of lords, who alone is immortal, whose home is in inaccessible light,
whom no man has seen and no man is able to see: to him be honour and everlasting power. Amen.

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 99(100)

Come before the Lord, singing for joy.

Cry out with joy to the Lord, all the earth. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing for joy.

Come before the Lord, singing for joy.

Know that he, the Lord, is God. He made us, we belong to him, we are his people, the sheep of his flock.

Come before the Lord, singing for joy.

Go within his gates, giving thanks. Enter his courts with songs of praise. Give thanks to him and bless his name.

Come before the Lord, singing for joy.

Indeed, how good is the Lord, eternal his merciful love. He is faithful from age to age.

Come before the Lord, singing for joy.

Alleluia: Luke 8: 15
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
15 Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.
(11. 'This, then, is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God.
12. Those on the edge of the path are people who have heard it, and then the devil comes and carries away the word from their hearts in case they should believe and be saved.
13. Those on the rock are people who, when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of trial they give up.
14. As for the part that fell into thorns, this is people who have heard, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and never produce any crops.
15. As for the part in the rich soil, this is people with a noble and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance).
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel : Luke 8:4‐15

With a large crowd gathering and people from every town finding their way to him, Jesus used this parable: ‘A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell on the edge of the path and was trampled on; and the birds of the air ate it up. Some seed fell on rock, and when it came up it withered away, having no moisture. Some seed fell amongst thorns and the thorns grew with it and choked it. And some seed fell into rich soil and grew and produced its crop a hundredfold.’ Saying this he cried, ‘Listen, anyone who has ears to hear!’ His disciples asked him what this parable might mean, and he said, ‘The mysteries of the kingdom of God are revealed to you; for the rest there are only parables, so that
they may see but not perceive, listen but not understand.
‘This, then, is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God. Those on the edge of the path are people who have heard it, and then the devil comes and carries away the word from their hearts in case they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are people who, when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of trial they give up. As for the part that fell into thorns, this is people who have heard, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and do not reach maturity. As for the part in the rich soil, this is people with a noble and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance.’

For our reflection today:

We are used to calculating things – and at times it is necessary – but this does not apply in love! The way in which this “wasteful” sower throws the seed is an image of the way God loves us. Indeed, it is true that the destiny of the seed depends also on the way in which the earth welcomes it and the situation in which it finds itself, but first and foremost in this parable Jesus tells us that God throws the seed of his Word on all kinds of soil, that is, in any situation of ours: at times we are more superficial and distracted, at times we let ourselves get carried away by enthusiasm, sometimes we are burdened by life’s worries, but there are also times when we are willing and welcoming. God is confident and hopes that sooner or later the seed will blossom. This is how he loves us: he does not wait for us to become the best soil, but he always generously gives us his word. Perhaps by seeing that he trusts us, the desire to be better soil will be kindled in us. This is hope, founded on the rock of God’s generosity and mercy. (Pope Leo XIV, General Audience, 21 May 2025)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Most High Servant,
Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love (Blessed  and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)