September 23, 2023 –
St. Pius of Pietrelcina
Luke 8:4-15
“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
The parable Jesus preaches to us today is well-known. Its meaning is clear because Jesus Himself explains the parable: something He rarely does. Given this explanation, we might apply the parable to ourselves as an examination of conscience. While Jesus describes the different elements of the parable as relating to different groups of persons, one can reflect on these elements as relating to oneself at different times in one’s life.
“The seed is the Word of God”, that is, God the Son, as St. John tells us in the prologue to his Gospel account. Our lives as disciples are all about allowing this seed to sink into our souls: allowing God the Son entrance into our hearts and minds, so that He might live in us.
When are we “on the path”? When are we so shallow in giving our attention to Jesus that the devil snatches Him from our lives? When are we “on rocky ground”? When do we allow temptation to have the upper hand over Christ? When are we “among thorns”, allowing our worldly concerns to choke off both God the Son and the graces He wills to bring into our lives? In the Holy Eucharist ask the Word made Flesh to help you till the field of your life so that it might be “rich soil”.
