On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore.Â
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.Â
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.Â
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.Â
But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.Â
Whoever has ears ought to hear."
REFLECTION
Did you know that the three canonical Gospels contain the Parable of the Sower? (Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8). They don't have much difference between them, and the message is the same.
We have heard every year how we can be the seed that falls by the road. Or the one in the rocks. The one choked by the thorns. And the one that falls in fertile soil. We might also hear how at one point or another how we have each been one and every one of those seeds: Sometimes we let the world, the devil, and the flesh take us away from God. Sometimes we let go of God because of the tribulations we face. Sometimes we allow anxiety to choke us.
To be and remain in fertile ground is truly hard. And we cannot do it on our own.
Just as seeds need the hands of a gardener to prepare the soil, and then water, fertilize, and de-weed, our souls need similar treatment. We need to be in a state of grace, and need to be nourished in our interior life, our souls specially with Holy Communion. We also need to be de-weeded, with our examination of conscience, but specially with the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
For this we need the help of our priests: to consecrate the Eucharist, and to grant us forgiveness of sins in Persona Christi Capitis.
Pray with us the PAPA Prayer for Priests, so they can prepare the ground, our souls, fertile to receive His Word so we can do His Works here on earth.
