The WORD
today (see http://usccb.org/bible/readings/092317.cfm)
reminds me that I should bear good fruit for God.
My wife took subjects on
agriculture before we got married, back when we was still based in the
province. One interesting fact she shared was that there are different kinds of
soil. Not all will be conducive for plants and fruits. I thought any soil van
be used to grow trees and flowers. Hindi pala. It depends on the kind of
soil if the seeds will bear fruit. In the gospel today, Jesus uses this in the
context of spiritual growth and maturity.
The sower went out to sow. He
put out the same seeds to the different soil. It was the same sower, and
the same kind of seed. What was
different was the kind and state of the
soil that received the seeds. It had a huge impact on what
happened to the seeds.
The readiness
and receptiveness of the soil determines what will happen to the seeds.
The seed
is the word of God, Christ is the sower.
We all have the same bible. We
all have the same God. We all experience the great, unconditional and
forgiving love of God through Jesus. However, we receive it differently. Some
chose to prioritize worldly riches over spiritual ones, some allow stress and
problems overwhelm us and take the focus away from God, some allow the devil to
take away what God gave us. But the good ones keep everything in their hearts
and lives and allow God’s seeds of love to bear fruit in their lives.
However, I believe there is a
little difference with us. The kind of soil was permanent. Nothing could be
dome to change it. But not with us. We may be kind of rocky or shallow right
now, but we don't need to be there forever. We can change our kind of
soil. We can improve. We can make the decision to be better, to exert more
effort, to be more ready and receptive. However, it works both ways. Even if we
may produce good fruit now, we should not be complacent. We should make the
continuous effort and decision to be fruitful.
Father God,
Thank you for
today. Thank you for another day to live. Thank you for another chance to love
and serve you. Thank you for all the blessings you have been continuously
giving me. Thank you for the reminder and the challenge. Lord, sorry for the
times I just go with the flow. Sorry for not taking steps to improve my faith
and relationship with you that affect the fruits I produce. Likewise, Sorry for
the times I get overconfident and lose the effort to improve my relationship
with you. Help me prepare my heart to receive you all the time. Help me
die of myself and allow you to live in me. Help me to always be a good soil,
that your word in my life may take effect. May I be able to absorb it, give it
its due importance, and allow you to bear fruit through me. Amen.
Blessed
weekend!
In
Christ,
-g-
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September 23, 2017
Memorial of Saint Pius of Pietrelcina, Priest
Lectionary: 448
Reading 11 TM 6:13-16
I charge you before God, who gives life to all things,
and before Christ Jesus,
who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate
for the noble confession,
to keep the commandment without stain or reproach
until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ
that the blessed and only ruler
will make manifest at the proper time,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,
and whom no human being has seen or can see.
To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Responsorial PsalmPS 100:1B-2, 3, 4, 5
Sing joyfully to the LORD all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
For he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R. Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
AlleluiaSEE LK 8:15
Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generious heart
and yield a harvest through perseverance.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
GospelLK 8:4-15
journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable.
"A sower went out to sow his seed.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled,
and the birds of the sky ate it up.
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew,
it withered for lack of moisture.
Some seed fell among thorns,
and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew,
it produced fruit a hundredfold."
After saying this, he called out,
"Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear."
Then his disciples asked him
what the meaning of this parable might be.
He answered,
"Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God
has been granted to you;
but to the rest, they are made known through parables
so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.
"This is the meaning of the parable.
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."
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