And when he was alone,
those present along with the Twelve
questioned him about the parables.
Jesus answered them,
"Do you not understand this parable?
Then how will you understand any of the parables?
The sower sows the word.
These are the ones on the path where the word is sown.
As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once
and takes away the word sown in them.
And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who,
when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy.
But they have no root; they last only for a time.
Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
Those sown among thorns are another sort.
They are the people who hear the word,
but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches,
and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word,
and it bears no fruit.
But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

Or:

GOSPEL (Short Form)         Mark 4:1-9 (Long Form: Mark 4: 1-10, 13-20)
On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea.
A very large crowd gathered around him
so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down.
And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land.
And he taught them at length in parables,
and in the course of his instruction he said to them,
"Hear this! A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and the birds came and ate it up.
Other seed 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
and it produced no grain.
And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit.
It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
He added, "Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."


PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
Sacrificium tibi placeat, Deus, in commemoratione beati Ioannis Chrysostomi libenter exhibitum, quo monente, nos etiam totos tibi reddimus collaudantes.
May the sacrifice which we gladly present
in commemoration of Saint John Chrysostom
be pleasing to you, O God,
for, taught by him,
we, too, give ourselves entirely to you in praise.
Through Christ our Lord.


COMMUNION SONG          See 1 Cor 1: 23-24
Nos praedicamus Christum crucifixum, Christum, Dei virtutem et Dei sapientiam.
We proclaim Christ crucified;
Christ, the power of God and the wisdom of God.


PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION
Concede, misericors Deus, ut mysteria, quae pro beati Ioannis Chrysostomi commemoratione sumpsimus, nos in tua caritate confirment, et tuae fideles confessores veritatis efficiant.
Grant, O merciful God,
that these mysteries we have received
as we commemorate Saint John Chrysostom,
may confirm us in your love
and enable us to be faithful in confessing your truth.
Through Christ our Lord.

Do you not hear the Lord saying: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst? Will he be absent, then, when so many people united in love are gathered together? I have his promise; I am surely not going to rely on my own strength! I have what he has written; that is my staff, my security, my peaceful harbour. Let the world be in upheaval. I hold to his promise and read his message; that is my protecting wall and garrison. What message? Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world!

If Christ is with me, whom shall I fear? Though the waves and the sea and the anger of princes are roused against me, they are less to me than a spider’s web. Indeed, unless you, my brothers, had detained me, I would have left this very day. For I always say “Lord, your will be done”; not what this fellow or that would have me do, but what you want me to do. That is my strong tower, my immovable rock, my staff that never gives way. If God wants something, let it be done! If he wants me to stay here, I am grateful. But wherever he wants me to be, I am no less grateful.

Yet where I am, there you are too, and where you are, I am. For we are a single body, and the body cannot be separated from the head nor the head from the body. Distance separates us, but love unites us, and death itself cannot divide us. For though my body die, my soul will live and be mindful of my people.

You are my fellow citizens, my fathers, my brothers, my sons, my limbs, my body. You are my light, sweeter to me than the visible light. For what can the rays of the sun bestow on me that is comparable to your love? The sun’s light is useful in my earthly life, but your love is fashioning a crown for me in the life to come.


RESPONSORY          2 Timothy 2:9-10; Psalm 27:1
Because I preach the gospel, I suffer hardships
even to the point of being thrown into chains like a criminal,
but the word of God is not chained.
- I endure all of this for the sake of the chosen.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom should I fear?
- I endure all of this for the sake of the chosen.


COLLECT
O God, strength of those who hope in you,
who willed that the Bishop Saint John Chrysostom
should be illustrious by his wonderful eloquence
and his experience of suffering,
grant us, we pray,
that, instructed by his teachings,
we may be strengthened through the example
of his invincible patience.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.