[…] I was able to pause and reflect on the correct use of earthly goods, a theme the Evangelist Luke reproposes for our attention this Sunday in various ways. 

Telling the Parable of the dishonest but very crafty administrator, Christ teaches his disciples the best way to use money and material riches, that is, to share them with the poor, thus acquiring their friendship, with a view to the Kingdom of Heaven. "Make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon," Jesus says, "so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations" (Lk 16: 9). 

Money is not "dishonest" in itself, but more than anything else it can close man in a blind egocentrism. It therefore concerns a type of work of "conversion" of economic goods: instead of using them only for self-interest, it is also necessary to think of the needs of the poor, imitating Christ himself, who, as St Paul wrote: "though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich" (II Cor 8: 9). 

It seems paradoxical: Christ has not enriched us with his richness but with his poverty, with his love that brought him to give himself totally to us. 

Here one could open up a vast and complex field of reflection on the theme of poverty and riches, also on a world scale, in which two logics of economics oppose each other: the logic of profit and that of the equal distribution of goods, which do not contradict each other if their relationship is well ordered. 

Catholic social doctrine has always supported that equitable distribution of goods is a priority. Naturally, profit is legitimate and, in just measure, necessary for economic development. 

In his Encyclical Centesimus Annus, John Paul II wrote: "The modern business economy has positive aspects. Its basis is human freedom exercised in many other fields" (n. 32). Yet, he adds that capitalism must not be considered as the only valid model of economic organization (cf. ibid., n. 35). 

Starvation and ecological emergencies stand to denounce, with increasing evidence, that the logic of profit, if it prevails, increases the disproportion between rich and poor and leads to a ruinous exploitation of the planet. 

Instead, when the logic of sharing and solidarity prevails, it is possible to correct the course and direct it towards an equitable, sustainable development. 

May Mary Most Holy, who in the Magnificat proclaimed: the Lord "has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away" (Lk 1: 53), help Christians to use earthly goods with Gospel wisdom, that is, with generous solidarity, and inspire politicians and economists with farsighted strategies that favour the authentic progress of all peoples.

[Pope Benedict, Angelus, 23 September 2007]

2. The problems and challenges facing pastoral activity in north-eastern Brazil are long-standing, almost endemic, posing the Church's pastors with the troubling question: how can we evangelise such vast and poor populations and share the anguish born of their poverty, which in real life takes on very concrete forms, in which we should recognise the suffering face of Christ? How can we build up the Church, with its distinctive characteristic of being a "sign and safeguard of the transcendent dimension of the human person" and a promoter of his or her integral dignity, with these "living stones", when their poverty is often not only a random stage in unavoidable situations caused by natural factors, but also the product of certain economic, social and political structures?

3. We cannot fail to remember with gratitude in this circumstance, at least globally, the host of self-sacrificing, virtuous and devoted missionaries and pastors who preceded you and who must be considered as the founders of the Church of God (cf. Eph 2:20) in your current dioceses, or, to use the patristic expression, "who gave birth there" Churches there, and not without suffering. In their time, they surely asked themselves what God's plan was for the vocation of each person in building society, to make it ever more human, just and fraternal, and how the priority of priorities in evangelisation could be achieved: to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.

5. In order to progress gradually and effectively, and not only to satisfy their immediate vital needs, peoples and human groups in general need solidarity to achieve the indispensable and permanent transformation of the structures of economic life. But it is not easy to proceed along the steep path of this transformation unless there is a genuine conversion of minds, wills and hearts, which will dispel the confusion of freedom with the instinct of individual and collective interest, or even with the instinct of struggle and domination, whatever ideological colours they may be cloaked in (cf. John Paul II, Redemptor hominis, 16).

[Pope John Paul II, Address to Brazilian Bishops, 16 September 1985]

The parable in this Sunday’s Gospel passage (cf. Lk 16:1-13) has as its protagonist a sly and dishonest steward who, charged with wasting his master’s goods, is about to be dismissed. In this difficult situation, he does not complain; he does not seek justifications nor does he allow himself to become discouraged, but thinks of a way out in order to ensure himself a calm future. He initially reacts with clarity of mind, recognizing his own limitations: “I am not strong enough to dig, and I am ashamed to beg” (v. 3); then he acts shrewdly, robbing his master for the last time. In fact, he calls the debtors and reduces the debts they owe to the master, in order to make them friends and to be repaid by them later. This is to make friends through corruption and obtaining gratitude through corruption, as sadly is common practice today.

Jesus presents this example certainly not to encourage dishonesty, but prudence. Indeed he emphasizes: “The master commended the dishonest steward for his prudence” (v. 8), that is, for that combination of intelligence and cunning, which enables one to overcome difficult situations. The key to reading this narrative lies in Jesus’ invitation at the end of the parable: “make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous mammon, so that when it fails they may receive you into the eternal habitations” (v. 9).

This seems somewhat confusing, but it is not so: the “unrighteous mammon” is money — also called “devil’s dung” — and in general material goods.

Wealth can propel one to build walls, create division and discrimination. Jesus, on the contrary, encourages his disciples to reverse course: “Make friends for yourselves by means of mammon”. It is an invitation to know how to change goods and wealth into relationships, because people are worth more than things, and count more than the wealth they possess. Indeed, in life, it is not those who have many riches who bear fruit, but those who create and keep alive many bonds, many relationships, many friendships through a variety of “mammon”, that is, the different gifts that God has given them. But Jesus also points to the ultimate aim of his exhortation: “Make friends for yourselves by means of mammon so that they may receive you into the eternal habitations”. If we are able to transform wealth into tools of fraternity and solidarity, not only will God be there to welcome us into heaven, but also those with whom we have shared, properly stewarded what the Lord has placed in our hands.

Brothers and sisters, this Gospel passage makes the question of the dishonest steward dismissed by his master, resonate in us: “What shall I do now?” (cf. v. 3). In facing our shortcomings and our failures, Jesus assures us that we are always in time to put right with good the harm done. Those who have caused tears, make someone happy; those who have wrongfully taken, give to those who are in need. By doing so, we will be commended by the Lord “because we have acted with prudence”, that is, with the wisdom of those who recognize themselves as children of God and challenge themselves for the Kingdom of Heaven.

May the Blessed Virgin help us to be prudent by assuring ourselves not worldly success but eternal life, so that at the moment of the final judgement, the needy people whom we have helped can testify that in them we saw and served the Lord.

[Pope Francis, Angelus, 22 September 2019]

In the difference between common religiosity and Faith

(Lk 8:4-15)

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

«And another part fell on the earth the beautiful one, and sprouted it bore fruit a hundredfold» (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 didn’t 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 ground «beautiful», fruits in differently: one hundred, sixty, thirty for one [Mt 13:8.23; Mk 4:8.20; the text of Lk doesn’t speak of percentages].

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 doesn’t 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 doesn’t worry about the quantity, nor about the immediate outward fruits of His ‘grain’.

He doesn’t care that the work is "effective in departure"!

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.11-15) 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.

[Saturday 24th wk. in O.T.  September 20, 2025]

The difference between common religiosity and personal Faith

(Lk 8:4-15)

The stony soil and scorching climate of Palestine did not make life easy for farmers. The scarcity of rain and the intrusion into the fields of those who wanted to shorten their journey destroyed the plants. It was hard work with few tangible results.

Despite the enormous difficulties, every year the farmer sowed his seed generously and ploughed, animated by his faith in the seed's inner vitality and in the munificence of nature.

Ploughing followed sowing, to prevent the turned soil from drying out immediately under the intense heat and preventing the seed from taking root thanks to a minimum of moisture. Therefore, the sower did not select the different types of soil in advance.

The parable (vv. 5-8) that precedes the allegory (vv. 11-15) compares lived reality with the world of the Spirit. The seed is already at work: the new 'Kingdom to Come' is not glorious, but here and there it takes root and produces - even where you least expect it.

According to conventional thinking, this seems crazy, but the divine 'farmer' does not choose the type of 'soil', nor does he discriminate on the basis of its productive potential - which would seem easy to predict.

The Sower even accepts that his 'grain' fallen on 'good' soil (v. 8) will bear fruit in time 'with perseverance' (v. 15). Unlike Mark and Matthew, Luke speaks only of 'fruit a hundredfold' (v. 8).

Jesus means that the work of evangelisation cannot be measured with pedantry. His Word remains as a Seed sown in the human heart by the One who is neither stingy nor exclusive - but magnanimous.

His Church is a small world alternative to both the Empire and immediately selective religions: the Lord has no intention of carving out disciples who are immediately better than others and isolated from the reality of the human family. A new way of life.

God does not force the growth of the 'seed' in each of us, but waits patiently. He also accepts that it may grow badly or not sprout at all.

Since he scatters abundantly on all kinds of hearts [even on the asphalt], he knows that he will be accused of being unwise: he is not concerned with the immediate external fruits (!) of his 'seed' - he does not care whether the work is 'effective from the outset' (!).

But he is interested in making us understand that he is a Father, not the calculating God of ancient beliefs: miserly, superficial, stingy, aloof, prejudiced.

The metaphor that follows the initial parable emphasises that any lack of results is not attributable to the seed's lack of vitality, nor to God's work, but to human freedom; to our limited or inconsistent nature.

God is generous, especially in the age of rebirth from crisis: it is also a time of generous sowing by the Father, the 'farmer' of his seedlings - more adventurous and less respectable than traditionalists.

Obviously, the Word of the Master and Lord warns against anything that could prevent a new genesis - above all because we often wait to mechanically return to old roles and the old system of things, which is habitual, external and dirigiste.

Are we perhaps still too attached to previous desires and economic levels that have now been overwhelmed by events... not accepting the emergence of opposites that we had never experienced or planned for?

We still think we can return to 'everything as it was before'; to the superficiality of a society based on appearances, not rooted in conviction, immediately enthusiastic and unable to look beyond.

Instead, the changing tide is coming so that we can learn to look within, elsewhere and beyond - to focus on our own and others' unique figures, in the conviviality of differences.

It is likely that the knowledge or lifestyle we would like to reaffirm is still linked to old models that are welcome but now inadequate to provide new answers to new questions. And perhaps all this has led us to imitate too much the disqualified having-appearing, instead of the precious being at the centre of our Calling by Name.

It is not impossible that we have allowed ourselves to become accustomed to decision-making nomenclatures or to hastiness due to performance anxiety, which do not take into account the beautiful terrain of character and vocational gift [which would lead to better contact with the unfulfilled energies of our true inclination - nestled among inconsistencies].

Here we are, caught up in concerns about restoring 'business as usual' or 'how we should be'... Despite the fact that the current traumas are clear signs to broaden our awareness, which has been stifled until now (as if by brambles). These contemporary appeals are eloquent calls to launch every side towards the Exodus, to conquer renewed freedoms and territories of the soul, in essence.

All the influence of an empty and formal spirituality that we carry with us still inhibits a good perception of today, and unnerves us, taking away our inner strength. It does not allow us to follow our own impulse in harmony with the inner world - or the same tendencies in listening to the incessant Call of the Gospels, which is still disseminated by non-conformist prophets, to announce the truth and the creation of a new world.

Well, something - or our whole life - could end up confused; more than ever, we may not be going in the right and clear direction: we may not be making ourselves special as the Sower would like - precisely because of the clichés or emotional voids that steal the Seed, or suffocate the plant, or because of the usual presumption that wants to rise to the top immediately and thus prevents us from putting down deep roots.

We will then have to put aside our mental turmoil and unilateral volitional turmoil; leave space and give in to the new current of quality that is carrying us. And surrender to the proposals of the tide of grains that come to guide us beyond the old disputes: to the natural, original energy of Providence, which knows more than we do.

To the Wind of the Spirit that unfolds beyond the 'grains' - where you least expect it - it does not even matter how immediate the results are - but our 'good' harmony (v.8) - which helps to bring us up to speed with the reality of far-sighted combinations. They will reorder everything in a different way: beyond habitual mental systems - and every result will be more prudent, in favour of the peripheries.

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

His is always and everywhere a generous and uniquely creative Action, put in place to regenerate and empower convictions - not to make us repeat the usual actions or liturgies from the manual [or more glamorous ones]. Then resume playing with the performance or narrow confines of approved patterns.

If we want to synchronise ourselves with the movement of the Sower, we must move with Him and like Him towards the poverty of the various soils [existential situations].

A special narrowness - even more acute in times of global emergency - that forces us to 'move', to become itinerant, to scatter everywhere... and not just to reap a hundredfold (vv. 8.15) in the usual protected centre.

Parables and the mystery of blindness: Narration and transmutation

Getting lost, for transformation

(Lk 8:9-10, 18; cf. Mt 13:10-17; Mk 4:10-12, 25)

St Paul expresses the meaning of the 'mystery of blindness' that contrasts with his journey with the famous expression 'thorn in the side': wherever he went, enemies were already waiting for him, as well as unexpected disagreements.

So it is for us too: disastrous events, catastrophes, emergencies, the disintegration of old reassuring certainties - all external and murky; until recently considered permanent.

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

These are resources or situations that we might never have imagined would be allies in our own and others' fulfilment.

Erich Fromm says:

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

Indeed, in a climate of unrest or absurd differences [that force us to regenerate], the most neglected inner virtues sometimes come to the fore.

New energies - seeking space - and external powers. Both malleable; unusual, unimaginable, unorthodox.

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

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

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

They lead us to a dynamic dialogue with the eternal reserves of transmuting forces that inhabit us and belong to us.

A primordial experience that goes straight to the heart.

Within us, this path 'fishes' for the creative, fluctuating, unprecedented option.

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

An arrow of Mystery that goes beyond the fragments of consciousness, culture, procedures, and what is common.

For a knowledge of oneself and of the world that goes beyond that of history and current events; for the active awareness of other contents.Until the turmoil and chaos itself guides the soul and compels it to a new beginning, to a different perspective (completely shifted), to a new understanding of ourselves and the world.

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

And Jesus knows this.

New interpretation of the different Soils

Evolution of the Covenant in times of crisis: the same flaws, different harmonisations

(Mt 13:18-23)

God is generous, especially in the age of rebirth from crisis: it is also a time of generous sowing on the part of the Father.

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

Obviously, the Word of the Master and Lord warns against anything that could prevent a new Genesis - above all because we often wait to mechanically return to old roles and the old system of things; to the habitual, external, dirigiste model.

Are we perhaps still too attached to desires and previous economic levels (v. 22) now overwhelmed by things... not accepting the emergence of opposites that we had never experienced or planned for (v. 19)?

We still think we can return to 'everything as before'; to the superficiality of a society based on appearances rather than convictions; to an immediately enthusiastic exterior (vv. 20-21) that does not shift our gaze.

Instead, the different tide comes so that we learn to fix our gaze 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 lifestyle we would like to reaffirm is still linked to standards, whether welcome, old-fashioned or à la page - now inadequate to provide new answers to new questions.

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

It is not impossible that we have allowed ourselves to become accustomed to decision-making nomenclatures or to rushing due to performance anxiety.

These do not take into account the 'beautiful terrain' of uniqueness, of the unprecedented gift of vocation [which would lead to better contact with the unfulfilled energies of our genuine inclination - nestled among inconsistencies].

Instead, we are all preoccupied with concerns about restoring things 'as they were' or 'as they should be'...

This is despite the fact that the current traumas are explicit signals to broaden the awareness that has been stifled until now (as if by 'brambles': v.22).

Eloquent appeals - even contemporary ones - to launch every side towards the Exodus, for the conquest of renewed freedoms; territories of the soul, though hidden, at the core of our essence.

All the influence of an empty and formal spirituality that we carry with us still inhibits a good perception of today, and unnerves us, taking away our inner strength.

It does not allow us to follow our own impulse in harmony with the inner world - or the same tendencies in listening to the incessant Call of the Gospels [which is still disseminated by non-approved prophets, to proclaim the truth and the creation of an alternative world].

Well, something or our whole life could be confused; more than ever, we are not going in the right and clear direction: we are not making ourselves special as the Sower would like - precisely because of the stereotypes or emotional voids that steal the Seed, or suffocate the plant, or because of the usual presumption that wants to return to towering immediately and thus prevents us from putting down deep 'roots'.

We will then have to put aside our mental turmoil and unilateral volitional turmoil; make room and give in to the new current of quality that is carrying us.

And surrender to the proposals of the tide of 'grains that come' to guide us beyond the old disputes: to the natural, original energy of Providence, which knows more than we do.

To the Wind of the Spirit that unfolds beyond, the grains - where you least expect them - it does not matter what percentage is productive (v.23b) but our 'beautiful' harmony (v.23a Greek text) that helps to bring us back to the reality of far-sighted mixtures.

They will reorder everything in a different way: beyond habitual mental systems - and every result will be more prudent, in favour of the Peripheries.

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

His is always and everywhere a generous and exceptionally creative Action, put in place to regenerate and empower convictions.

Not to make us repeat the usual actions or clichés from the manual [and start playing with performance again, or with the narrow confines of widely approved patterns].If we want to synchronise ourselves with the movement of the Sower, we must move with Him and like Him towards the poverty of the various soils (existential situations).

A special narrowness - even more acute in times of global emergency - that forces us to 'move', to become itinerant, to scatter everywhere.

And not just to gather the 'hundred' (v. 23) in the usual protected 'centre'.

The Lord scatters the seed of the word of God freely and with abundance but knowing that it may fall on poor soil, which will not allow a seed to mature because of dryness, or that its vital force may be extinguished, choked by thorn bushes. Yet the sower does not lose heart, for he knows that part of this seed is destined to find "good soil", namely, ardent hearts capable of receiving the word with willingness to help it mature through perseverance and yield fruit generously for the benefit of many. 

The image of the soil can evoke the reality of the family, on the whole good; the sometimes arid and harsh environment of work; the days of suffering and tears. The earth is above all the heart of every person, especially of youth, to whom you address your service of listening and guidance: a heart that is often confused and disoriented, yet capable of containing unimaginable powers of generosity. It is like a bud ready to open to a life spent for the love of Jesus, able to follow him with the totality and the certainty that comes from having found the greatest treasure that exists. It is always and only the Lord who sows in human hearts. Only after the abundant and generous sowing of the word of God can one progress further along the paths of companionship and education, of formation and discernment. All this is linked to that tiny seed, the mysterious gift of divine Providence which releases from within an extraordinary force. In fact, it is the Word of God who brings about in himself what he says and desires.

[Pope Benedict, to participants at the European conference on vocational pastoral care, 4 July 2009]

5. “Behold, the sower went forth to sow” (Mt 13:3).

The Incarnation of the Word is the greatest and truest “sowing” of the Father. At the end of time, the harvest will take place: man will then be subjected to God’s judgement. Having received much, much will be asked of him.

Man is responsible not only for himself, but also for other creatures. He is responsible in a global sense: in fact, their fate in time and beyond time is linked to him. If he obeys the Creator's plan and conforms to it, he leads the whole of creation into the kingdom of freedom, just as he dragged it with him into the kingdom of corruption because of his original disobedience. This is what St Paul meant to tell us today in the second reading.

His discourse is mysterious, but fascinating. By welcoming Christ, humanity is able to bring a flow of new life into creation. Without Christ, the cosmos itself pays the consequences of humanity's refusal to freely adhere to the plan of divine salvation. For our hope and that of all creatures, Christ has sown in the human heart a seed of new and immortal life. A seed of salvation that gives creation a new direction: the glory of the Kingdom of God.

[Pope John Paul II, homily at S. Stefano di Cadore, 11 July 1993]

When Jesus spoke, he used simple words and he also used images which were examples taken from daily life, in order to be easily understood by all. This is why they listened to him willingly and appreciated his message which directly touched their heart. And it was not that complicated language which was difficult to understand, as that used by the Doctors of the Law of that time, which was not easily understood, was very rigid and distanced people. And with this language Jesus made the mystery of the Kingdom of God understood; it was not complicated theology. And one example is that of today’s Gospel passage: the parable of the sower (cf. Mt 13:1-23).

The sower is Jesus. With this image, we can see that he presents himself as one who does not impose himself, but rather offers himself. He does not attract us by conquering us, but by donating himself: he casts seeds. With patience and generosity, he spreads his Word, which is not a cage or a trap, but a seed which can bear fruit. And how can it bear fruit? If we welcome it.

Therefore, the parable concerns us especially. In fact, it speaks more of the soil than of the sower. Jesus carries out, so to speak, a “spiritual X-ray” of our heart, which is the soil on which the seed of the Word falls. Our heart, like the soil, may be good and then the Word bears fruit — and a great deal — but it can also be hard and impermeable. This happens when we hear the Word but it bounces off of us, just as on a street: it does not enter.

Between the good soil and the street; the asphalt — if we throw a seed on the “sanpietrini” (cobblestones), nothing grows — there are however, two intermediate types of soil which, in different amounts, we can have within us. The first, Jesus says, isrocky. Let us try to imagine it: rocky ground is a terrain that “does not have much soil” (cf. Mt 13:5), so the seed sprouts but is unable to put down deep roots. This is how the superficial heart is: it welcomes the Lord, wants to pray, love and bear witness, but does not persevere; it becomes tired and never “takes off”. It is a heart without depth, where the rocks of laziness prevail over the good soil, where love is fickle and fleeting. But whoever welcomes the Lord only when they want to does not bear fruit.

Then, there is the last ground, the thorny one, filled with briars which choke the good plants. What do these thorns represent? “The cares of the world and the delight in riches” (v. 22), as Jesus says explicitly. The thorns are the vices which come to blows with God, which choke his presence: above all these are the idols of worldly wealth, living avidly, for oneself, for possessions and for power. If we cultivate these thorns, we choke God’s growth within us. Each of us can recognize his or her big or small thorns, the vices that inhabit the heart, those more or less deeply rooted briars that God does not like and that prevent us from having a clean heart. It is necessary to tear them out, otherwise the Word cannot bear fruit, the seed will not grow.

Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus invites us today to look inside ourselves: to give thanks for our good soil and to tend the soil that is not yet good. Let us ask ourselves if our heart is open to welcome the seed of the Word of God with faith. Let us ask ourselves if our rocks of laziness are still numerous and large; let us identify our thorns of vice and call them by name. Let us find the courage to reclaim the soil, to effect a nice conversion of our heart, bringing to the Lord in Confession and in prayer our rocks and our thorns. In doing this, Jesus, the Good Sower will be glad to carry out an additional task: purify our hearts by removing the rocks and the thorns which choke his Word.

[Pope Francis, Angelus, 16 July 2017]

Action of the Risen One

(Lk 8:1-3)

The rabbis did not accept women into their schools, because they were considered not up to the task.

But Jesus doesn’t come to teach laws or philosophies, vice versa to gather around Him the despised and non-persons of all times.

In Christ each one opens himself to hope. Who was considered as worthless proclaims and bears witness to God’s love for the little ones and the least.

All with delicacy, and here are the female figures: fidelity takes over. 

In women, piety arises spontaneously [it is not conceived as for us males: immediately to the goal and source of gain].

With them also vanishes the anxiety of performance that accompanies men, who also on the ‘good’ must immediately appear setting up platforms and défilé; be all noticed, cultivate public and private relations that matter, and make career over it.

Jesus conquers the hearts of women because He understands their generosity, the depth of feelings, the capacity for dedication and personal relationship, the extreme gift of self; sensitivity, Faith-love, patience, meekness, generosity, capacity for fatigue and suffering.

Instead of "killing" time, women fill it thoroughly.

Jesus does not want a humanity aimed at being appreciated more than “hiding”, inclined to speak more than to ‘perceive’; willingly inclined to organize-plan more than to meditate - and to sense the depth of our Roots.

The prevalence or balance of the female aspect is an appropriate counterweight to a world prone to dirigisme and the exercise of the will, rather than to the cultivation of sons’ feelings.

Happy is that vocation accompanied by the intensity, depth, delicacy, ability to wait and at the same time consistency to the principles - and participation in destiny - typical aspects of female sensitivity and the world of consecrated women.

[Perhaps that of Mary, Joan, Susannah and many others of the early days was a role comparable to that of Martha in the family of Bethany, coordinator of the community of only sisters and brothers].

In Lk, the story of women expresses the action of the Risen One. He accepts them as followers and disciples.

In the female figures we read in filigree the story of humanity that in Christ rises and assumes dignity.

Nation that becomes fraternal in pain, prepares nourishment (instead of taking it away), persists, struggles and in this action becomes even an icon of prayer.

It is a model of dedication and self-giving [instead of calculation and cunning] - ready for life, and type of the Announcement; treasure that unleashes the Spirit.

Jesus on his way with the Twelve (v.1) still has a long journey to go today in the magic of the feminine - who knows how to welcome the person and listen to events, always being on the field.

Women learn from their essence, so they know how to attract, they know the indispensable things, they understand where and how to proceed, they are present in the present - and without dominating, they solve problems.

They are not afraid of losing “position”.

To internalize and live the message:

Do you feel called to a spiritual synthesis of personalities, with all the virtue and completeness that springs from a more complete character?

[Friday 24th wk. in O.T.  September 19, 2025]