Project BLACK MAMBA: XV Sunday in Ordinary Time

'Tis the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time: Wikipedia-link.

Scripture of the Day
Mass Readings—Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
The Book of Isaiah, chapter fifty-five, verses ten & eleven;
Psalm Sixty-five, verses ten, eleven, twelve & thirteen, & fourteen;
The Letter to the Romans, chapter eight, verses eighteen thru twenty-three;
The Gospel according to Matthew, chapter thirteen, verses one thru twenty-three
(or, the Gospel according to Matthew, chapter thirteen, verses one thru nine).

Commentary: Video Gospel reflection by Jeff Cavins: Encountering the Word.

Gospel reflection by Bishop Robert Barron (Word on Fire):

Friends, our Gospel for today is the parable of the sower and the seed. It has to do with the growth and development of the kingdom of God. We hear that Jesus "went out of the house and sat down by the sea" and that large crowds gathered around him. This is Jesus speaking to the whole world.

Sitting down, he is, again, in the attitude of the ancient teacher and judge, and he speaks the parable of the sower. The sower sows far and wide, some of the seed landing on the path, where the birds eat it up; some falling on rocky ground, where it was scorched in the sun; some sown among thorns, where the life is choked off; and some sown on rich soil, where it bears thirty, sixty, or a hundred fold.

Keep in mind that Jesus himself, in person, is the seed sown. Jesus is the logos that wants to take root in us. This seed is sown far and wide, through all sorts of means, but in you, let the seed be sown deep, where it can't be stolen, scorched, or choked.

Mass Journal: Week 29
Reflection by Matthew Kelly, founder of the Dynamic Catholic Institute:

We are called to live holy lives & this is something we should strive for as Christians, but let me be very clear that holiness is something God does in us & not something we achieve. And yet at the same time, God is a perfect gentleman: He invites us to participate in His life, but never forces Himself upon us. He wants our consent, He wants to be invited into our hearts & lives, but much more than consent & invitation He desires our loving cooperation. God yearns for us to be coworkers with Him in this work of holiness. It is this dynamic collaboration between God & man that brings delight to God. The North Star is the only star in the sky that never moves; it remains constant & unwavering, & therefore is a true guide. In the same way, God's call to live a holy life never changes. In a world of rapid & constant change, it is what is unchanging that allows us to make sense of change. The ideas you encounter may change, your emotions may change, but God's call to live a holy life never changes.

Otherwise, 16 July would be the festival of Our Lady of Mount Carmel: Our Lady-link ūna, Our Lady-link duae, & Wikipedia-link Mount Carmel; Wikipedia-link Brown Scapular.

Commentary: Wayback Machine. Quoth the Holy Family bulletin:

This title is given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late twelfth & early thirteenth centuries. There they built in the midst of their hermitages a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Mother. Since the fifteenth century, popular devotion to Our lady of Mount Carmel has centered on the Scapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a sacramental associated with promises of Mary's special aid for the salvation of the devoted wearer.

'Twould also be the festival of Blesseds John Sugar, Priest, & Robert Grissold, Martyrs (died 1604), martyred in the reign of the king James VI & I, two of the Eighty-five Martyrs of England & Wales: Martyr-link Juliett Sierra & Wikipedia-link Juliett Sierra, Martyr-link Romeo Golf & Wikipedia-link Romeo Golf; Martyrs-link LXXXV & Wikipedia-link LXXXV.