St. Paul finishes up his first letter to Timothy in today’s first reading. In a sense, he tells Timothy to hang in there, keep the faith, persevere. Do it all for Christ Jesus. The Gospel reading today is the parable of the sower and the seed from Luke 8.
When I read about the different kinds of soil in this parable, I think to myself that, at one time or another during my life, I have been each of these soil types. Early in my life the seeds were sown. But I fell into the ways of the world; Satan had come and stolen away what had been sown. I recall brief flirtations with Christ, which invariably ended with some usually minor setback. To this day I still struggle with worldly anxiety and have to fight mightily not to let them choke the word. And finally, there are times when I truly feel as though I am following God’s call for my life.
I’m working on playing the percentages. I pray that a greater percentage of my time will be spent in the last category; that rich soil that understands the word and bears good fruit. I’m not sure if I’ll ever make it into the upper percentile of humanity, but, God willing, I’ll keep plugging away! Care to join me?
Father, help us to always check our soil. Grant us the grace to be rich soil; to bear much fruit for Your Kingdom. Amen.
Would your priest like a free copy of A Minute in the Church: The Mass? Forward this to him and have him email us his name, parish and address at sales@guslloyd.com. We’ll send him a free copy right away!
0 comments