Tag: parable of the sower

“The sower sows the word.” | Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

From the Gospel acclamation: “The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower;
all who come to him will live for ever.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 4:1-20)

Jesus said to 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.”

Using a parable about a sower, Jesus describes conditions in life that we all face at one time or another. Jesus explains to the crowd gathered around him by the sea that the seed represents the word of God and that different types of ground symbolize the various responses to his word. Whether through persecution or distraction or anxiety or succumbing to the evil one, we sometimes fail to see God’s word take root. “But those sown on rich soil,” Jesus says, “are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” What kind of soil will the sower of the word find in us as he comes to sow his word?

God, help me prepare my heart to receive your word so that it takes root and bears fruit “thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” The seed that you come to plant will grow throughout my life and continue to grow even into eternal life through the single sacrifice of Jesus Christ your Son. You are the sower who promises and delivers, as Jeremiah prophesied, through the New Covenant to put your laws into our hearts and write them upon our minds. Give me the grace, Lord, to make of myself a good seedbed of rich soil, ready to receive your word. In fruitfulness, let it grow abundantly in this life and continue to grow under the eternal light of your presence. Let me hear and accept your word.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church

Free lectio divina prayer guide: quarryapps.gumroad.com/l/jojqau

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 4:1-20)

Jesus said to [the Twelve], “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word.

Jesus shares with a large crowd surrounding him by the sea the Parable of the Sower. The truth behind the parable is a seed in itself, its truth hidden within the husk of the parable. Jesus says to the apostles, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word.” The seed sown among thorns is a penetrating depiction of an earthly reality. “Worldly anxiety,” Jesus says, “the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit.” Similarly, the seed sown on a path or on rocky ground correspond to daily realities. What are the conditions for seed to take root, to prepare rich soil? As the husk of the parable is peeled away, its truth is open to contemplation that speaks distinctly to the soul of each person and is ready for planting.

God, help me perceive the meaning of the Parable of the Sower. The demands of each day lure me away from diligently preparing a seedbed in my soul, rich soil to hear your word and accept it. The well-trod path of daily routines and the rocky ground of momentary joy are vulnerable places for your word to take root. Yet, with time and attention, cultivating these areas of life is an opportunity to slow down and invite you into the commonplace, into my moment-by-moment existence. Give me grace to suspend throughout the day those things that I do automatically and out of anxiety to see you working to prepare my soul to receive your word. And help me quiet myself to hear and accept your word and “bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

From the responsorial psalm: “‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one; I have sworn to David my servant: I will make your dynasty stand forever and establish your throne through all ages.’” For ever I will maintain my love for my servant.” Saint Francis de Sales, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Memorial of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina, Priest

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke (Lk 8:4-15)

Jesus answered his disciples: “The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation. As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”

After Jesus tells the parable of the sower to a large crowd, Luke tells us that he calls out to them: “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” By saying this, Jesus explicitly states that the message of the Gospel is for everybody, that the word of God is meant to go out to peoples of all nations. And at the end of the parable, what happens to the seed that falls on good soil? They are the ones, Jesus says, who bear the fruit of the word that first blossoms forth through perseverance and grows to produce a bountiful harvest in knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. An abundant harvest means there is more than enough for oneself and others.

Father in heaven, help guide me today to make myself rich soil for your word. Keep me close to you and away from any path that exposes the seed to destruction through temptations, worldly anxieties, or the lure of riches and pleasures. Give me the grace of greater love for the gift of your word, the wisdom to guard it and cultivate it within me. Give me the means to let it take root in my heart.

From the responsorial psalm: “Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.” Saint Padre Pio, pray for us!

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAaVQ82g2C4