Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Memorial)
The seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. (Matthew 13:23)
What is your opinion of the sower in this parable? Do you think he cares about where his seeds land? Perhaps you picture him randomly dropping seeds here and there without a thought. Some seeds land on the path. So be it. Some land on the rocky ground and don’t take root. So be it. And some are lucky enough to land on rich soil, where they will thrive. So be it.
But if God is the farmer who is planting that seed, why would he decide to scatter his seeds on soil that won’t bear fruit? What farmer would be so careless?
God is not being careless; he just knows that we can change. He knows we aren’t stuck with being one type of “soil” our whole lives. He knows that any kind of soil can be tilled, reclaimed, and eventually bear fruit. So he scatters his seed on hearts that are hard and full of weeds.
So what are some “rocks” and “thorns” that may be in the soil of our hearts? Commenting on this passage, Pope Francis suggested that rocky ground might be the superficial heart that doesn’t have much soil. When we have “rocks of laziness,” he said, we don’t go deep enough with the Lord because we fail to persevere. The thorns are vices such as idolizing wealth and living only for ourselves and our possessions. According to Pope Francis, “If we cultivate these thorns, we choke God’s growth within us.”
Francis went on to encourage us. When we bring our “rocks” and “thorns” to God in Confession and prayer, “Jesus, the Good Sower, will be glad to . . . purify our hearts” (Angelus Address, July 16, 2017).
Spend some time today asking God to show you the “rocks” and “thorns” in your life. What might be preventing you from fully hearing and understanding God’s word (Matthew 13:23)? What might be keeping you from flourishing and bearing fruit for him? Believe that God wants your heart to be rich soil. If you ask him, he will pull out the weeds. And not only that—he will rain down his grace on you so that you can continue to bear fruit for him!
“Lord, thank you for sending me your word and the grace to hear and understand it!”
Exodus 20:1-17
Psalm 19:8-11
Saint Pio of Pietralcina "Padre Pio" (1887-1968)
Capuchin
Letter 3: 579; CE 54
Bearing fruit, free from worldly anxiety
Advance with simplicity on the pathways of God, and do not worry. Hate your defects, yes, but quietly, without excitement, nor anxiety. We must be patient with them and benefit from them by means of a holy humility. For if you lack patience, your imperfections, instead of disappearing, will only grow. Because there is nothing that strengthens our defects so much as anxiety and an obsession to get rid of them.