When we hear the parable of the sower in today’s Gospel, we know we want to be the good, rich soil. We want to be the person who, having heard the word of God, “embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.” But we also know that there are times in life when we may be more like the other types of soil. Perhaps we are the seed sown on rocky ground when we don’t work to deepen our relationship with God through personal prayer. We might be the seed sown among thorns when we allow our desire for more money, or prestige, or power, to become more important than our desire to follow Christ. But just as seeds are resilient and do what is necessary to grow, the good news is that God is always giving the seeds of our faith more opportunities to bloom and flourish.
How can you allow your heart to be fertile soil for God’s word to be planted within you?
—The Jesuit Prayer team