From the Gospel acclamation: “Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.”
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 13:18-23)
Jesus said to his disciples: “Hear the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom without understanding it, and the Evil One comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
Jesus explains to the disciples the meaning of the Parable of the Sower. For each type of soil the word falls on, Jesus says that it is heard. Four times Jesus repeats the phrase “the one who hears the word.” What happens to it after it is heard—the receptivity to it and placement of it—makes all the difference. As the word is sown among the broad and well-trod paths, lack of understanding leaves it vulnerable to the Evil One taking it away. If the condition of the soul is not prepared to receive it, the joy in hearing it doesn’t take root and falls away or is choked in the entanglements of anxious daily life and lured to other pursuits. But to those who both hear and understand, Jesus tells us, the fruit it bears “yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
God, help me ponder throughout the day how the word fell among the family of Joachim, Anne, and Mary. Conceived without sin, Mary first received your word from her parents, who would have marveled at her receptivity and care of it. The Evil One could not take from her what she understood, being immaculately conceived and without the distortions to faith and reason that sin subjects the soul to. Witnesses to the joy that took root in Mary, her parents would have seen how joy and fidelity persisted through the incarnation and all the way through the passion, death, and resurrection of her Son. Because of her perfect humility, worldly anxiety and the lure of riches could not touch her. Mary is the example to every soul who prepares rich soil for the seed to take root, grow, and bear fruit to give witness to you, Lord—to proclaim your greatness to all generations. Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us! Blessed Virgin Mary, 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.