"Beads of Joy" by RosaryManJim: He Began To Teach

BEADS OF JOY 01-30-19

“He Began To Teach”

My Friends,

Today’s Gospel: Mark 4:1-20 (Parable and Its Purpose)

The Parable of The Sower
“Again, he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching, he said to them: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty-fold and sixty-fold and a hundredfold." And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

The Purpose of the Parables
“And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve asked him concerning the parables. And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables; so that they may indeed see but not perceive and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again and be forgiven." And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown; when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which is sown in them. And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty-fold and sixty-fold and a hundredfold."

Reflection:
I am a simple man, who loves parables. Cyril of Alexandria said this about parables, "Parables are word pictures not of visible things, but rather of things of the mind and the spirit. That which cannot be seen with the eyes of the body, a parable will reveal to the eyes of the mind, informing the subtlety of the intellect by means of things perceivable by the senses, and as it were tangible." Ok, I hope didn’t confuse anyone after that. The first time I read this, I loved it, then I just re-read it this morning after I included it in today’s blog and said, “What?” LOL Maybe I’m just not awake yet. Simply put, parables are Jesus’ way of telling a story that has a message of compassion, love, obedience that within our hearts its meaning is revealed. There are truly so many parables and their meanings vary in each of our lives and at different times in our lives.

Many, many, years ago, when people would go to the library (aka: a building filled with books to borrow, you needed to a member, it’s free) LOL, sorry, I don’t know who all my readers are. Well, back then I use to borrow a book called, “All The Parables of The Bible”. This book along with, “All The Miracles of The Bible” were among my favorite for research and reference. I was so into enjoying these books that I would re-borrow them the three times in a row I was allowed, and, on the day, I had to return them, I handed them in and waited till they were re-shelved, and I took them out again. On a funny note these books were copyrighted in 1963, wow, I finally found something that is actually before my time. You know as I get younger, ok older, it gets harder and harder to find things I am younger than. So, this is nice. Oh, by the way, I bought these books a couple of years ago on Amazon. It made so much sense to have these books in my own personal library.

You know, in many ways, many of us tell parables of our faith. “What are ya talkin about Mr. Jim?” LOL, who said that, I heard that with a Scottish accent, lol. Ok, what I mean is that, all of us, are at some point within our journey of faith. And on this journey, some of us may have experienced something that opened our eyes or opened our hearts to Jesus or to prayer or to go to Mass. That is our parable, our story that we share when we are blasted excited sharing it with others. It is a story that usually catches the ears and hearts and minds of those listening. If you had an experience you can relate to and know personally and someone else has one similar, that story would or at least could have the potential to bring your life closer to Jesus. True! Ok, or you may have a better understanding of empathy of that person or now many other questions you never thought of just got answered. Parables of our faith can serve many purposes, sometimes you never know how your story may affect someone else’s life. So, tell it, share it.

Pondering these thoughts today: What I suggest here in today’s reflection is this: Write your story or stories! Share them with family and friends! This is the start of your magnificent legacy of faith. A legacy needs a story, it needs the details, it needs the emotion, it really needs to be shared. Sit down or walk with a recorder and speak it. No matter how you do it. Do it!! My dear long-time friend and sister in the faith Jan Martinez encouraged me to write my story. For almost a year we chatted on the phone sharing our faith. This was going on, while I was driving an 18-wheeler across the United States. Somewhere on my way to Oklahoma City, OK in 2006, Jan said, “Write your story so others can read it.” I am so glad I did. I have shared my story worldwide all these years and according to Blogspot it has been read many thousands of times worldwide. I hope and pray that someone out there got blasted excited about their faith after reading about my early days and how I began my journey.

My Story (the beginning of where my faith began)
CLICK HERE

Parables of Jesus
Parable of the Sower

Mary Our Refuge from the Storm
w/ Fr. Philip Dabney, S.Ss.R.

What Is The Bible?
(Check it out - Interesting)

LOVE YOU GUYS !!!!

Your brother in Christ Jesus
And His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr OFS

Today is Wednesday: We pray the Glorious Mysteries:

The Glorious Mysteries

1. The Resurrection (Faith) –Mark 16:1-8
2. The Ascension (Hope) –Luke 24:50-53
3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit (Love) –Acts 2:1-4
4. Assumption of Mary.1 (A Happy Death) –Rev 12:1-6
5. Coronation of Mary (Mary’s intercession) –Judith 15:9-10

Glory and Honor and Praise to You Lord Jesus Christ!