In the difference between common religiosity and Faith

(Mt 13:1-23)

The parables compare the lived reality and the world of the Spirit:

«Others [grains] then fell on the earth the beautiful one and bore fruit, some hundred, some sixty, some thirty» (v.8).

Palestine’ stony terrain and scorching climate did not make it easy for the workers who lived on agriculture.

The lack of rain and the intrusion into the fields of those who wanted to shorten the path, destroyed the plants.

Tiring action and few tangible results.

Despite the enormous difficulties, every year the peasant threw grains with a wide hand, generously - and ploughed, animated by confidence in the inner life force of the seed and in the bounty of nature.

Ploughing was after sowing, to avoid that the soils turned over dried immediately under the powerful heat, and did not allow the grains to take root thanks to a minimum of moisture.

So the sower did not select the different types of ground prematurely.

The Seed already works: the new ‘Kingdom that Comes’ is not glorious, but here and there it takes root and produces - even where you do not expect.

According to the ancient religious mentality it seems a madness, but the divine Farmer does not choose the type of "land", nor discriminates on the basis of the percentage of production - although it would seem easy to predict.

The Sower even accepts that his ‘grain’ fallen on the «beautiful» [v.8 Greek text] ground, fruits differently: one hundred, sixty, thirty for one.

The term «beautiful» (in the Eastern sense) means the full and fruitful land [the soul and work of the most intimate, even anonymous ones].

The Lord means that a wise commitment to evangelization cannot be measured with fussiness.

His Word remains as a Beginning thrown into the human heart by the One who is neither stingy nor exclusive - but magnanimous.

In this way, the Church, his new People, is a small alternative world to both the Empire and selective religions.

The new Rabbi did not intend to carve out better disciples than others - isolated from the reality of the human family.

He was proposing a new lifestyle, cohabiting.

In short, God does not force the growth of the ‘seed’ in each of us, in an abstract way; He waits patiently.

Even accepts that it is born badly or that it does not arise at all. He knows where to go.

Since overflowingly spreads on all kinds of hearts (even on asphalt), He foresees already that will be accused of being unwise.

But He does not worry about the quantity, nor about the immediate outward fruits of His ‘grain’.

He does not care that the work is "effective right from the start"!

Such is the amiable, humanizing and divine (parental) Tolerance that saves. Loveableness that does not kidnap us every moment, to plan.

Rather, all this is to make us understand that He is not a calculating and miserly God, external, tight and biased; but a munificent and conciliatory Father.

Lord of the Kingdom who does not wait first for our little ‘perfections’.

The metaphor that follows the initial parable is intended to emphasize that any lack of result is not to be attributed to the lack of vitality of the Seed, nor to the divine Work, but to man’s freedom; to his condition of limit or incoherence.

Unfortunately, from the earliest generations of believers, the positive Call of Jesus has been reinterpreted somewhat backwards: with moralistic and individualistic overtones (vv.10-23) that have undermined its genuineness.

In this way, the initial proposal of personal Faith became contaminated with the customary purist and fall-back [guilt-ridden] outlook typical of the surrounding philosophies and religions, as well as common thought.

Certain configurations of ecclesial order subsequently normalized the same exceptional power of the Message; so unprecedented. In particular, the new sense of adequacy, confidence and self-esteem that the Son of God intended to communicate to His friends, and to the world of the least.

[15th Sunday in O.T. (year A)  July 12, 2026]

(Mt 13:1-23)

In a world that has lost its references but is perhaps attempting to create more authentic and profound ones, the mission of motherhood and fatherhood of those with experience is not only a material support: it extends to the more ancient discernment of the things of the soul.

The stony terrain and scorching climate of Palestine did not make life easy for those who lived from farming.

The scarcity of rain and the intrusion into the fields of those who wanted to shorten the journey destroyed the plants.

Tiring action and few tangible results.

Despite the enormous difficulties, every year the farmer sowed the seed generously - and ploughed, animated by trust in the seed's inner life force and in the munificence of nature.

Ploughing was after sowing, to prevent the turned clods of soil from drying out immediately under the powerful heat and not allowing the seed to take root, thanks to a minimum of moisture. 

Thus the sower did not select the different types of soil beforehand.

The parables compare the lived reality and the world of the Spirit.

The seed already works: the new 'coming kingdom' is not glorious, but here and there it takes root and produces - even where you do not expect it.

To a respectable mindset this sounds like madness, but the divine Farmer does not choose the type of 'soil', nor does he discriminate on the basis of the percentage of production [which would seem easy to predict].

The Sower even accepts that his 'grain' that fell on the 'good' (v.8 Greek text) i.e. full and fruitful soil [of his disciples and not] will bear fruit in different ways: "and they bore fruit who were a hundred, who were sixty, who were thirty".

Jesus means that the work of evangelisation cannot be measured with fussiness.

His Word remains as the Beginning thrown into the human heart by the One who is neither stingy nor exclusive - but magnanimous.

His Church is a small world alternative to both empire and selective religions: it has no intention of carving out disciples who are 'better' than others and isolated from the reality of the human family.

A new way of life.

Says the Tao Tê Ching (XL): "Returning is the movement of the Tao; weakness is what the Tao adopts. The ten thousand creatures that are under the sky have life from being; being has life from non-being'.

And Master Wang Pi comments: 'Being has non-being for its utility: this is its return'. Master Ho-shang Kung adds: "The root is that towards which the Tao moves, which in its motion makes the ten thousand creatures live. If they oppose it, they perish. The Tao always makes use of softness and weakness, that is why it can last a long time".

God does not force the growth of the 'grain' in each of us, but waits patiently. He even accepts that it sprouts badly, or not at all.

Since he scatters overflowingly on all kinds of hearts [even on the asphalt] he knows that he will be accused of being careless: he is not concerned with the quantity (!), nor with the immediate outward fruits (!) of his 'seed' - he does not care that the work be 'effective from the beginning' (!).

But he cares to make us understand that he is Father, not the calculating God of the most varied beliefs: stingy, outward, stingy, and prejudiced.

The parable of the Sower as historically narrated by Jesus (vv.3-9) denotes the total positivity of his Message: he proclaims a new world; first of all a different, tolerant and benevolent Heaven.

The principle of our life as saved is not what we do for God, but what He - Generous and Serene - does for us. Just like a condescending and longsuffering Parent, who ceaselessly offers opportunities for life.

The Kingdom of the Lord is not to be prepared and set up [according to normal preconceptions] but welcomed.

The Master intended to shift the criterion of the pious life: from personal effort to 'letting oneself be saved'.

The Redemption has roots of the unprecedented that displace propositions and expectations.

It is not founded on plotted tracks.

It takes shape from a providential initiative, in gratuitous liberality; through the tolerant calm of Heaven - which allows us a process and a wide time for growth.

The metaphor that follows the initial parable is intended to emphasise that any lack of result is not to be attributed to the Seed's lack of vitality, nor to the divine Work, but to man's freedom; to his condition of limitation or inconsistency.

Unfortunately, subsequent reflection - within a few decades of the Lord's death - began to suffer from the dominant cultural cliché [triggering a ridiculous competition with religions].

Purist expectations on the side gradually eroded both the sense of the proclamation of the near and superabundant Kingdom and the nature of the Gift, as well as the transparency of its submissive availability to all.The Son exclusively proclaimed the longsuffering of the Father: the Subject, Motive and Engine of our ability to accept the Vocation, and face the personal journey.

In later reworking, the original parables became allegories, overflowing with symbols with a definite moralistic meaning.

Allegories are generally trivial narratives, veined with impersonal and primal considerations [here, on the "quality of the soil"].

This passage testifies to the difficulty of understanding the Son of God's astounding original call.

He intended to propose a path of Faith to all, precisely to supplant the anxious weight of the oppressive archetype of the various doctrines and behavioural casuistry.

The ethicist yoke does not start from Love: it presupposes stinginess, inadequacy, and shame everywhere; even in the spiritual life [shrunken, perpetually in the balance, always and everywhere insufficient].

The protagonist of the passage (from v.19) is no longer God and His munificent gesture [who spares no expense in sowing His Seed in scattering], but the type of earth: the apostle himself - who would thus become the subject of the spiritual journey.

Disaster.

Guilty always (vv.19-23): you have not watched over the one who snatches the Seed; you have had only initial fervour, you have no root in you, and you are inconstant; and if worried, seduced, or covetous, you will be unfruitful...

Finally, if even you were grounded in "the beautiful one" (v.23) you should still be careful... because you can have different results: "who a hundred who sixty who thirty" (v.23).

Impossible to succeed. In short, devotion and obsession seem to go hand in hand [against 'nature'].

But one enters a minefield - against the main lines of any personal inclination and talent, or genuine charisma even of the group.

It seems that it is the woman and the man [those who receive the Word] who must focus on themselves, identify their faults, and - having finally become aware of them and their clear ability - strive to 'improve', on pain of exclusion from the ranks of the 'best'.

All this would lead precisely the most motivated or euphoric people to the depersonalisation of the very character of the Calling, to the denial of their intimate life, to an insane expenditure of energy.

Having wiped out trust in the tide of the Coming Seed - that is, having lost the propulsive dynamism of ordinary existence and its opportunities for life - each one would always find before him those imperfections that then stand in the way.

In fact, those who are unaware of man's diverse and very normal energies [all malleable and potentially preparatory to developments; to be perceived in the round, assumed and invested in] neglect their own essence and turn into those deadly alcoves (of themselves and others) that they proclaim they would never want to be.

As a result of extrinsic or recondite efforts, it is precisely the one-sided 'phenomena', and the sterilised, that end up losing their way to the astonishment of God that displaces.

This from the valorisation of opposites.

Moreover, more than spontaneous souls, precisely such firsts in the class put their real soul inclination in the balance - perhaps mistaking character nature for ballast.

The (historical) result: here we are all ready to attack, each other. It is the picture of today's lacerations; of the usual Guelphs versus Ghibellines.

This is due to the fact that we have gone from the fascinating proposal of Faith, to the fatigue of religious [and moralising] retreat to the 'terrain'.

Heath paradoxically increasingly superficial, insubstantial, stony, stifled, unintegrated - one-way and outward!

Parables, and the mystery of blindness: Narration and transmutation

Being lost, for transformation

(Mt 13:10-17; cf. Mk 4:10-12.25; Lk 8:9-10.18)

St Paul expresses the sense of the "mystery of blindness" that contrasts him on his journey with the famous expression "thorn in the flesh": wherever he went, enemies were already ready; and unexpected disagreements.

So it is with us too: fateful events, catastrophes, emergencies, disintegration of the old reassuring certainties - all external and swampy; until recently assessed with a sense of permanence.

Perhaps in the course of our existence, we have already realised that misunderstandings were the best ways to reactivate ourselves, and introduce the energies of renewed Life.

These are those resources or situations that we might never have imagined as allies to our own and others' fulfilment.

Erich Fromm says:

"To live is to be born at every moment. Death occurs when one ceases to be born. Birth is therefore not an act; it is an uninterrupted process. The purpose of life is to be fully born, but the tragedy is that most of us die before we are truly born'.

Indeed, in the climate of turmoil or absurd divergence [which forces us to regenerate] the most neglected intimate virtues sometimes emerge.New energies - seeking space - and external powers. Both malleable; unusual, unimaginable, heterodox.

But they find the solutions, the real way out of our problems; the way to a future that is not a mere rearrangement of the previous situation, or of how we imagined 'should have been and done'.

Once a cycle is over, we begin a new phase; perhaps with greater rectitude and frankness - brighter and more natural, humanising, close to the 'divine'.

Authentic and engaging contact with our deepest states of being is acutely generated precisely by detachments.

They bring us into dynamic dialogue with the eternal reservoirs of transmuting forces that inhabit us, and belong to us most.

Primordial experience that goes straight to the heart.

Within us such a path 'fishes' the creative, fluctuating, unprecedented option.

In this way, the Lord transmits and opens his proposal using 'images'.

Arrow of Mystery that goes beyond the fragments of consciousness, of culture, of procedures, of what is common.

For a knowledge of oneself and the world that goes beyond that of history and the chronicle; for the active awareness of other contents.

Until labour and chaos itself guide the soul and force it to another beginning, to a different gaze (all shifted), to a new understanding of ourselves and the world.

Well, the transformation of the universe cannot be the result of a cerebral or dirigiste teaching; rather, of a narrative exploration - one that does not turn people away from themselves.

And Jesus knows this.

New interpretation of the different Grounds

Evolution of the Covenant, in the time of crisis: usual flaws, different harmonisations

(Mt 13:18-23)

God is munificent, especially in the age of rebirth from crisis: also a time of generous sowing by the Father.

He remains the Farmer of his seedlings - more adventurous and less respectable than traditionalist, or fashionable.

Of course, the Word of the Master and Lord warns against anything that might prevent a new Genesis - first and foremost, because we often wait to mechanically return to the old roles and the old way of things; to the habituated, outward-looking, dirigiste model.

We are perhaps still too attached to cravings and previous economic levels (v.22) now overwhelmed by things... not accepting the emergence of opposites we never experienced or planned for (v.19).

We still think we can return to 'everything as before'; to the superficiality of the society of the look that is not rooted in conviction; of the immediately enthusiastic exteriority (vv.20-21) that does not shift our gaze.

Instead, the dissimilar tide comes for us to learn to fix our eye within, elsewhere, and beyond - to focus on our own and others' 'unique figure' in the conviviality of differences.

It is likely that the knowledge or way of life we would like to reaffirm is still tied to standards, whether welcome, old, or à la page - now inadequate to provide new answers to new questions.

And perhaps all of this has led us too much to trace and imitate the disqualified 'having-appearing', instead of being, and that precious character at the heart of our Calling by Name.

It is not out of the question that we have allowed ourselves to become accustomed to decision-making nomenclatures or to rushing for performance anxiety.

They do not attend to the 'beautiful ground' of uniqueness, of the unprecedented vocational gift [it would lead to a better contact with the disregarded energies of our genuine inclination - nested among the inconsistencies].

Indeed, here we are, all caught up in the concerns of restoring 'as before' or 'as we should be'....

This, despite the fact that the present traumas are explicit signals to broaden hitherto stifled consciousnesses (as in 'brambles': v.22).

Eloquent appeals - even contemporary ones - to launch each side towards the Exodus, for the conquest of renewed freedom; territories of the soul, albeit hidden, in the core of the essence.

All the influence of an empty and formal spirituality that we drag along, still inhibits a good perception of today, and enervates, takes away intimate strength.

It does not allow one to follow one's own impulse in harmony with the inner world - or one's own tendencies in listening to the incessant call of the Gospels [which is still being disseminated by unaccredited prophets, to announce the truth and the creation of an alternative world].

Well, something or the whole of life may turn out to be haphazard; more than ever not to go the right way and clear: not to make us as special as the Sower would wish - precisely because of the stereotypes or emotional vacuums that steal the Seed, that is to say, choke the plant, or because of the usual presumption that wants to soar straight away and thus prevent us from putting down deep 'roots'.

We must then lay aside the cerebral whirlwinds and one-sided volitional paraphernalia; leave space and surrender to the new current of quality that is bringing us.And surrender to the proposals of the tide of 'coming grains' to guide us beyond the old contentions: to the natural, original energy of Providence, which knows more than we do.

To the Wind of the Spirit that deploys beyond, the grains - where you do not expect them - it does not matter what percentage is productive (v.23b) but our 'beautiful' attunement (v.23a Greek text) that helps to bring us up to speed with the reality of farsighted blending.

They will otherwise tidy everything up: beyond habitual mental systems - and every result will be more shrewd, in favour of the Peripheries.

Without too much disposition and calculation in the choice of ground [once pretentiously removed and sanitised upstream] we will realise that the Sower will have finally crumbled so many worldly pedestals; not to humiliate anyone, but to bestow surprises of astounding fruitfulness, even for the growth of every creed (all denominations).

His is everywhere and always an exceptional generous and creative Action, deployed to regenerate and empower convictions.

Not to make us redo the usual textbook actions or clichés [and resume playing with performance, or with chained restraints of widely approved patterns].

If we want to synchronise the same movement as the Sower, we must with Him and like Him move towards the destitution of the various terrains (existential situations).

Special narrowness - even more acute in times of global emergency - which obliges us to 'move', to become itinerant, to disseminate everywhere.

And not only collect the "hundred" (v.23) in the usual protected 'centre'.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I thank you for coming to the Angelus here at Castel Gandolfo, where I arrived a few days ago. I gladly take the opportunity to extend my cordial greeting to all the inhabitants of this dear little town, with my best wishes for a good summer. In particular I greet our Bishop of Albano.

In this Sunday's Gospel (Mt 13:1-23), Jesus recounts to the crowd the well-known Parable of the Sower. In a certain way it is an “autobiographical” passage, for it reflects the very experience of Jesus, of his preaching. He identifies himself with the sower who scatters the good seed of the Word of God and notes the different effects it obtains, in accordance with the way in which people hear the proclamation. 

Some listen superficially to the Word but do not take it in; others accept it at the time but are unable to persevere and lose it all; there are those who are engrossed by worldly concerns and enticements; and those who listen receptively, like the good soil: here the word bears an abundance of fruit. 

However this Gospel also puts the accent on Jesus’ preaching “method”, that is, on his use of parables. “Why do you speak to them in parables?”, his disciples ask (Mt 13:10). And Jesus answers distinguishing between them and the crowd: to his disciples — namely to those who have already decided for him — he can speak openly about the Kingdom of God, to others, instead, he must proclaim it in parables, precisely to encourage their decision, conversion of the heart; indeed, by their very nature parables demand the effort of interpretation, they not only challenge the mind but also freedom. St John Chrysostom explained: “And this he [Jesus] says to draw them unto him, and to provoke them and to signify that if they would covert he would heal them” (cf. Homily on the Gospel of Matthew, 45, 1-2).

Basically, God's true “Parable” is Jesus himself, his Person who, in the sign of humanity, hides and at the same time reveals his divinity. In this manner God does not force us to believe in him but attracts us to him with the truth and goodness of his incarnate Son: love, in fact, always respects freedom.

Dear friends, tomorrow we shall be celebrating the Feast of St Benedict, Abbot and Patron of Europe. In the light of this Gospel reading let us look to him as to a master of listening to the Word of God, a profound and persevering listening. We must always learn from the great Patriarch of Western monasticism to give God his proper place, the first place, offering him in morning and evening prayer our daily work. 

May the Virgin Mary help us, through her example, to be “good soil” where the seed of the Word may bear fruit in abundance.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus, 10 July 2011]

1. As we said in the previous catechesis, it is not possible to understand the origins of the Church without taking into account everything that Jesus preached and did (cf. Acts 1:1). It is precisely on this subject that he addressed his disciples and left us all a fundamental teaching in the parables concerning the Kingdom of God. Among these, those which set out and help us to discover the nature of the historical and spiritual development that is proper to the Church, in accordance with the plan of her Founder himself, are of particular importance.
2. Jesus says: “The Kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground: whether he sleeps or wakes, night or day, the seed sprouts and grows; how, he himself does not know. For the earth brings forth of its own accord, first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. When the crop is ready, the sickle is immediately put to work, for the harvest has come’ (Mk 4:26–29). Thus, the Kingdom of God grows here on earth, within human history, by virtue of an initial sowing—that is, a foundation—which comes from God, and of a mysterious working of God himself, who continues to nurture the Church throughout the centuries. God’s action concerning the Kingdom also involves the sickle of sacrifice: the Kingdom cannot develop without suffering. This is the meaning of the parable recorded in the Gospel of Mark.
3. We find the same concept in other parables too, especially those collected in the Gospel of Matthew (Mt 13:3–50).
‘The Kingdom of Heaven,’ we read in this Gospel, ‘may be compared to a mustard seed, which a man takes and sows in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but once it has grown, it is larger than the other vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air nest among its branches’ (Mt 13:31). This is the growth of the Kingdom in an ‘extensive’ sense.
Another parable, however, illustrates its growth in an ‘intensive’ or qualitative sense, comparing it to yeast, which a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour so that the whole batch might rise’ (Mt 13:32).
4. In the parable of the sower and the sowing, the growth of the Kingdom of God certainly appears as the fruit of the sower’s labour, but it is in relation to the soil and the climatic conditions that the sowing produces a harvest: “in one place a hundredfold, in another sixtyfold, in another thirtyfold” (Mt 13:8). The soil signifies people’s inner receptiveness. Therefore, according to Jesus, the growth of the Kingdom of God is also conditioned by human beings. Human free will is responsible for this growth. This is why Jesus urges everyone to pray: “Thy kingdom come” (cf. Mt 6:10; Lk 11:2): it is one of the first petitions of the Lord’s Prayer.
5. One of the parables told by Jesus concerning the growth of the Kingdom of God on earth reveals to us, in a very realistic way, the struggle inherent in the Kingdom, due to the presence and action of an ‘enemy’ who ‘sows tares (or weeds) amongst the wheat’. Jesus says that, when ‘the crop had grown and borne fruit, then the tares also appeared’. The servants of the owner of the field would like to pull it up, but the owner does not allow them to do so, ‘lest . . . you uproot the wheat as well. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers: First gather the weeds and bind them in bundles to be burnt; but gather the wheat into my barn’ (Mt 13:24–30). This parable explains the coexistence and often the intertwining of good and evil in the world, in our lives, and in the very history of the Church. Jesus teaches us to view things with Christian realism and to deal with every problem with clarity of principle, but also with prudence and patience. This presupposes a transcendent view of history, in which we know that everything belongs to God and every final outcome is the work of his Providence. Yet the final fate – of an eschatological nature – of the good and the wicked is not hidden: it is symbolised by the gathering of the wheat into the storehouse and the burning of the weeds.
6. Jesus himself explains the parable of the sower at the disciples’ request (cf. Mt 13:36–43). His words reveal both the temporal and eschatological dimensions of the Kingdom of God.
He says to his disciples: “To you has been entrusted the mystery of the Kingdom of God” (Mk 4:11). He instructs them on this mystery and, at the same time, through his word and his work, “prepares a kingdom for them, just as the Father has prepared it for him (the Son)” (cf. Lk 22:29). This preparation is also taken up again after his Resurrection: indeed, we read in the Acts of the Apostles that ‘he appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the Kingdom of God’ (cf. Acts 1:3) until the day when ‘he was taken up into heaven and sat at the right hand of God’ (Mark 16:19). These were the final instructions and directives to the Apostles on what they were to do after the Ascension and Pentecost to bring about the concrete beginning of the Kingdom of God at the founding of the Church.
7. The words addressed to Peter at Caesarea Philippi also form part of his preaching on the Kingdom. He says to him, in fact: “I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven” (Mt 16:19), immediately after calling him the rock upon which he would build his Church, which would be invincible against “the gates of Hades” (cf. Mt 16:18). This promise was expressed at the time using the future tense: ‘I will build’, because the definitive establishment of the Kingdom of God in this world was yet to be accomplished through the sacrifice of the Cross and the victory of the Resurrection. After that, Peter, together with the other Apostles, would have a living awareness of their calling to ‘proclaim the marvellous deeds of him who has called them out of darkness into his marvellous light’ (cf. 1 Pet 2:9). At the same time, they would all also be aware of the truth that emerges from the parable of the sower, namely that ‘neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who makes things grow’, as Saint Paul would write (1 Cor 3:7).
8. The author of the Book of Revelation expresses this same awareness of the kingdom when he recounts the song addressed to the Lamb: ‘You were slain, and with your blood you have ransomed for God people from every tribe, language, people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom of priests for our God’ (Rev 5:9–10). The Apostle Peter specifies that they have been made such “to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (cf. 1 Pet 2:5). These are all expressions of the truths taught by Jesus who, in the parables of the sower and the sowing, of the growth of the wheat and the weeds, and of the mustard seed which is sown and then grows into a large plant, spoke of the Kingdom of God which, under the action of the Holy Spirit, grows within souls thanks to the life-giving power derived from his death and resurrection: a kingdom that grows until the time appointed by God himself.
9. “Then comes the end,” St Paul proclaims, “when he (Christ) will hand over the kingdom to God the Father, after he has put every rule and every authority and power to nothing” (1 Cor 15:24). For when “everything has been brought under his authority, then the Son himself will also be subject to the One who has put all things under his authority, so that God may be all in all” (1 Cor 15:28).
The existence of the Church, from the beginning to the end, is inscribed within this marvellous eschatological vision of the Kingdom of God, and its history unfolds from the first day to the last.
[John Paul II, General Audience, 25 September 1991]

In this Sunday's Gospel passage (cf. Mt 13:1-23), Jesus tells a great crowd the Parable — that we all know well — of the Sower, who casts seeds over four different types of terrain. The Word of God, symbolized by the seeds, is not an abstract Word, but rather Christ himself, the Word of the Father who became flesh in Mary's womb. Embracing the Word of God therefore, means embracing the personage of Christ; of Christ himself.

There are several different ways to receive the Word of God. We may do so like a path, where birds immediately come and eat the seeds. This would be distraction, a great danger of our time. Beset by lots of small talk, by many ideologies, by continuous opportunities for distraction inside and outside the home, we can lose our zest for silence, for reflection, for dialogue with the Lord, to the point that we risk losing our faith, not receiving the Word of God, as we are seeing everything, distracted by everything, by worldly things.

Another possibility: we may receive the Word of God like rocky ground, with little soil. There the seeds spring up quickly, but they also soon wither away, because they are unable to sink roots to any depth. This is the image of those who receive the Word of God with momentary enthusiasm, which however, remains superficial; it does not assimilate the Word of God. In this way, at the first difficulty, such as a discomfort or disturbance in life, that still-feeble faith dissolves, as the seed that falls among the rocks withers.

We can also — a third possibility that Jesus mentions in the parable — receive the Word of God like ground where thorny bushes grow. And the thorns are the deceit of wealth, of success, of worldly concerns... There, the Word grows a little, but becomes choked, it is not strong, and it dies or does not bear fruit.

Lastly — the fourth possibility — we may receive it like good soil. Here, and here alone does the seed take root and bear fruit. The seed fallen upon this fertile soil represents those who hear the Word, embrace it, safeguard it in their heart and put it into practice in everyday life.

This Parable of the Sower is somewhat the ‘mother’ of all parables, because it speaks about listening to the Word. It reminds us that the Word of God is a seed which in itself is fruitful and effective; and God scatters it everywhere, paying no mind to waste. Such is the heart of God! Each one of us is ground on which the seed of the Word falls; no one is excluded! The Word is given to each one of us. We can ask ourselves: what type of terrain am I? Do I resemble the path, the rocky ground, the bramble bush? If we want, with the grace of God, we can become good soil, ploughed and carefully cultivated, to help ripen the seed of the Word. It is already present in our heart, but making it fruitful depends on us; it depends on the embrace that we reserve for this seed.

Often one is distracted by too many interests, by too many enticements, and it is difficult to distinguish, among the many voices and many words, that of the Lord, the only one that makes us free. This is why it is important to accustom oneself to listening to the Word of God, to reading it. And I return once more to that advice: always keep a handy copy of the Gospel with you, a pocket edition of the Gospel, in your pocket, in your purse … and then, read a short passage every day, so that you become used to reading the Word of God, understanding well the seed that God offers you, and thinking with what soil do I receive it.

May the Virgin Mary, perfect model of good and fertile soil, help us, with her prayer, to become willing soil without thorns or rocks, so that we may bear good fruit for ourselves and for our brothers and sisters.

[Pope Francis, Angelus, 12 July 2020]

Re-enter to regenerate: opposite banners

(Mt 19:27-29)

According to St. Ignatius [Meditation of the two flags], the greed for things gives rise in us the vain honor of the world, and from it an immense pride is generated, which severs any possibility of internalizing.

But detachment from certain banners is impossible about men. The Apostles themselves seem to hang on to the mindset of return: «what will we have?» [v.27].

The idea of retribution was typical of archaic religious culture. Unfortunately, the lust for advantage was crushing Love, annihilating the gratuitousness of gestures, denying the meaning of the Covenant.

In this way, in his free proposal Jesus wants to introduce the support of an intimate and apparently unreasonable conviction, but that sharply flows from the sources of being.

Here emerges the founding Eros of the Call. Not so much the character (placid and resigned) of the believer, but a superior personal Gift: that of a unique discernment for each one, linked to the profound nature.

To regenerate [«palingenesis» v.28] we must re-enter ours’ motivations with greater conviction.

«Monk» is a term that derives from the Greek «mònos», "unique" (in the sense of «simple» and «united»); perhaps from «mènein», "to remain". It also seems similar to the Latin «mìnus», "less".

That of contemplatives is a type of knowledge that meets the Wisdom of every culture. They believe that the ineffable Instrument of their hundredfold growth is the “absurdity” of being evaluated insignificant.

The Imitation of Christ emphasizes: «Ama nesciri et pro nihilo reputari».

Monastic Hiding guards what belongs to us; the lack of fame establishes us in the quintessence - instead of on the exterior.

Even the natural philosophical research of all time and latitude admits the detachment from opinions, which cut the sense of Mystery and personal Discovery.

Lao-tzū for eg. distinguishes individual achievement and destiny from both expectations and intentions, which enclose the meaning of life in what is already represented:

«The Way that can be said, is not the eternal Way» [Tao Tê Ching, i].

«The saint postpones his person, and his person is premised; he sets aside his person, and his person persists. Is not it for he stripped himself of interests? That is why he can realize his interest» [vii].

When God wants to realize a project, always flies over outside situations. It is a problem of sense, of the roots of our choice, of vitality from below and «renewal of all things» [v.28].

A life of obligations or attachments blocks creativity, multiplies idols and artificial worries; it creates a dark room, where we do not grasp what belongs to us. Away the scenes.

The meaning of monastic uniqueness is therefore inclined to the change and Awakening hoped for, qualitative: that of Hundred for one, strength of the weak. 

Paradoxical broadening of perspective.

[July 11,  st. Benedict abbot, patron saint of Europe]

Are we not perhaps all afraid in some way? If we let Christ enter fully into our lives, if we open ourselves totally to him, are we not afraid that He might take something away from us? Are we not perhaps afraid to give up something significant, something unique, something that makes life so beautiful? Do we not then risk ending up diminished and deprived of our freedom? And once again the Pope said: No! If we let Christ into our lives, we lose nothing, nothing, absolutely nothing of what makes life free, beautiful and great. No! Only in this friendship are the doors of life opened wide. Only in this friendship is the great potential of human existence truly revealed. Only in this friendship do we experience beauty and liberation. And so, today, with great strength and great conviction, on the basis of long personal experience of life, I say to you, dear young people: Do not be afraid of Christ! He takes nothing away, and he gives you everything. When we give ourselves to him, we receive a hundredfold in return. Yes, open, open wide the doors to Christ – and you will find true life. Amen.

(Pope Benedict, homily at the beginning of the Petrine ministry, 24 April 2005)

O Saint Benedict Abbot!

Thou who hast not taught 

otherwise than as thou hast lived, 

make us all feel 

the perennial relevance of thy teaching, 

that it may continue to inspire good 

for contemporary mankind.

O Saint Scholastica, 

to you we entrust our girls, our young women, 

our Religious, our Mothers, 

that they may know how to live 

their dignity as women today, 

according to God's plan.

Amen.

(John Paul II)

God of our Fathers, great and merciful, 

you have plans for peace 

and not for affliction, 

you condemn wars 

and abate the pride of the violent.

Thou hast sent thy Son Jesus 

to proclaim peace to near and far, 

to gather men 

of every race and kindred 

into one family.

Hear the unanimous cry of your sons, 

the heartfelt plea of all humanity: 

never again war, 

adventure without return, 

never again war, 

spiral of mourning and violence!

Speak to the hearts 

of those responsible for the fate of peoples, 

stop the logic of retaliation 

and revenge, 

grant our time 

days of peace!

Amen.

(John Paul II)

We also gather something from the long monastic tradition. In the beginning, it favoured in a certain way an escape from the world, trying to get away from urban decadence. This is why monks sought the desert, convinced that it was the right place to recognise the presence of God. Later, St Benedict of Norcia wanted his monks to live in community, combining prayer and study with manual labour (Ora et labora).This introduction of manual labour imbued with spiritual meaning proved revolutionary. People learned to seek maturity and sanctification in the interweaving of recollection and work. Such a way of experiencing work makes us more capable of care and respect for the environment, and imbues our relationship with the world with a healthy sobriety. (LS 126)

REFLECTION How do I live the tasks entrusted to me by my superiors?In what way does the Lord ask me to carry them out in a "revolutionary" way, which goes beyond "it has always been done this way", for a magis?

PRAYER Give us Father the ability to be attentive to the environment and our brothers and sisters in carrying out the tasks entrusted to us. Give us Lord the Grace to have the awareness of "being a mission on this earth, and for this reason I am in this world" (EG 273).

(https://www.assisiofm.it/news-papa-francesco-e-san-benedetto-da-norcia.html)

Placing in the events of persecution

(Mt 10:16-23)

The course of history is a time when God composes the confluence of our freedom and circumstances.

In such folds there is often a vector of life, an essential aspect, a definitive destiny, that escapes us.

But to the non-mediocre eye of the person of Faith, abuses and even martyrdom are also a gift.

To learn the important lessons of life, every day the believer ventures into what he is afraid to do, overcoming fears.

The spousal and gratuitous love received places us in a condition of reciprocity, of active desire to unite life to Christ - albeit in the meagre nature of our responses.

Continuing instead to complain about failures, dangers, calamities, everyone will see in us women like the others and ordinary men - and everything will end at this level.

We won’t be on the other side. At most we will try to escape the harshness, or we will end up looking for circumstance’s allies (vv.19).

Mt intends to help his communities to clash with worldly logic and to place themselves fervently in the events of persecution.

Social harassments are not fatalities, but opportunities for mission; places of high eucharistic witness (v.18).

The persecuted do not need external crutches, nor do they have to live in the anguish of collapse.

They have the task of being signs of the God’s Kingdom, which gradually leads the distant and the usurpers themselves to a different awareness.

No one is the arbiter of reality and all are twigs subject to reverses, but in the humanizing condition of the apostles overflows an emotional independence.

This happens through the intimate, living sense of a Presence, and the reading of external events as an exceptional action of the Father who reveals himself.

In this mouldable energy magma, unique paths emerge, unprecedented opportunities for growth... even in adversity.

Attitude without alibi or granite certainties: with the sole conviction that everything will be put back on the line.

Sacred and profane times come to coincide in a fervent Covenant, which nests and bears fruit even in moments of travail and paradox.

Here the only necessary resource is the spiritual strength to go all the way... yes, in paradoxes of other side.

It is in the Lord and in the insidious or day-to-day reality the "place" for each of us. Not without lacerations.

Yet we draw spiritual energy from the knowledge of Christ, from the sense of deep bond with Him and even minute and varied reality, or fearsome - always personal (v.22b).

Our story will not be like an easy and happy ending novel.

But we will have the opportunity to witness in the present the most genuine ancient roots: at every moment God calls, manifests himself - and what seems to be failure becomes Food and source of Life.

To internalize and live the message:

What kind of reading do you do, and how do you place yourself in events of persecution? 

Are you aware that setbacks do not come for despair, but to free you from closure in stagnant cultural patterns (and not yours)?

[Friday 14th wk. in O.T.  July 10, 2026]