FRIDAY of 16th Week, uneven numbered year
“So pay attention to the parable of the sower.When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding, the Evil One comes and carries off what was sown in his heart; this is the seed sown on the edge of the path.”
Jesus addresses the crowd taking the parable of the Sower. He identifies Himself with the Sower who sows the good seed of the Word of God, and he realises that there are different effects obtained reserved to this announce. The man who received the seed in the good earth is the one who receives the gift of God in fullness. This seed that is sown in each one of us is the Word of God. He is given to us so that Christ may take all his place in us. We are the Body of Christ. The man who received the seed in the good earth, is the man - man and woman created in God’s Image- who hears the Word and lives from it. And so he bears fruit that is the overflowing love of God’s Heart that takes heart in us.The obstacles to this Word are commented by Jesus Himself.
“The seed sown on patches of rock is someone who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy, but such a person has no root deep down and does not last; should some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, at once he falls away.”
They are all the different ways not to receive the Word. "Why do you speak in parables? ’ask the disciples. And Jesus replies making a distinction between them and the crowd : to the disciples, that is those who have decided for him, he can speak of the Kingdom of Heart openly, but on the other hand, to the others, he must announce it in parables precisely so as to stimulate their decision, the conversion of their heart; in fact, parables, because of their nature, require an effort of interpretation, they call on the intelligence, but also on peoples’ freedom . Saint John Chrysostom writes : ’Jesus pronounced these words with the
intention of drawing to him those who listened to him, and to stimulate them in assuring that they address themselves to him so that he will heal them’’.
The one who received the seeds in the thorns is the one whose worldly worries and the seductions of riches are too important in his life. Who will overcome these thorns if it is not the love of God who will show up this world of lies ? And so the occupied place will be given back to the good earth. Who is going to transform this lack of roots, if not God’s overflowing Love? This good earth in the meantime will develop roots so as to bear fruit! That will be once again thanks to the overflowing of God’s Love in us. When persecution will come, it will be the Infinite Love of God that will help us to rise up, so as to pass underneath or next to the trail, so as to overcome it in a better way. Who will allow this porous stone, this pebble that sometimes comes next to our heart to move? Who will roll away this tombstone, if not the strength of God’s Love, Jesus’ Resurrection?
“The seed thrown in the thorns is someone who hears the word, but the worry of the world and the lure of riches choke the word and so it produces nothing. And the seed sown in rich soil is someone who hears the word and understands it; this is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.”
Let us ask God to give us the grace to have the capacities to receive his Word, to listen to it and to put it into practice. Let us give to God the place that is His, the first place. May Our Blessed Lady help us to be, following her example, “the good earth” where the seed can bear much fruit. It is from the Word of God that our life takes on its full meaning.When the Word of God reaches this depth in our lives, it will reject everything that prevents the Infinite Love of God from taking root there. We pray the Beloved Heart of Jesus for His overflowing Love and we give thanks for the Joy of being together. The call Jesus makes to us is that we live a full and happy life . We are this blessed people that walks together. The Love that comes form God has its homecoming in our hearts so as to make its dwelling place there. Deep down, the true’ Parable of God’ is Jesus Himself, His Person who, under the sign of humanity, hides and at the same time reveals His Divinity. In this way, God doesn’t force us to believe in Him, but He draws us to Him
through the Truth and Goodness of His Incarnate Son; Love, in fact , always respects people’s freedom.