“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

My Dearest Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

Gospel Reading: Mark 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.” Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

Today’s reading is about the parable of the sower. Jesus compares our lives to those of seeds sown upon the land. Some of the seeds fall upon the walk, some among the stones and others in the soil. He tells us that those in the soil can be plagued with thorny weeds. The seeds represent our faith and commitment to God. The seeds that fall upon the path are not protected and the birds quickly eat these seeds. These are the times in our lives when we completely shut out God. These are the times when we have a choice between doing good and doing evil and we chose to do evil. Satan is quick to come after us at these times in our lives because we are easy prey.

At times our faith is like the seeds that fall along the sides of the path. There are a lot of rocks with very little soil. Our seed sprouts but does not survive. How often do we get excited about something in our lives to only see it quickly wither away. Maybe we have fallen away from daily prayer or even strayed from mass. We go back to mass and while in mass, we feel the instant gratification of prayer and the Eucharist. In the moment we make all kind of promises to God. But before you even leave the church parking lot you’re arguing with your family and completely forget the commitments you just made. Jesus tells us that during these times we “immediately receive it with joy” but our faith has no roots so it quickly withers. We must learn to nurture and grow our faith. It must have a solid foundation. It must have good soil with plenty of nutrients.

Jesus tells us that the seeds sown in the soil will grow, but that they still need care to be productive. If we let weeds grow in our lives, they can choke out our faith. So often we have strong beginnings and a good foundation, but we let the evils of society prevail. Evil lurks in so many places including the people we associate with, the television we watch and the places we go. If we are not careful, Jesus tells us that “worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit.” We become numb to the Word of God because we are surrounded by materialistic things. Our materialism convinces us that nothing is bad and that the things we do are not sins. We begin to justify our sins so that what we do is okay. While deep down we know that it is wrong, we push away our conscience to satisfy our worldly desires.

Christ gives us great hope and promise. “But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” If we are truly the person that God made us to be, then our faith must bear fruit. We are called as Christians to preach the gospel daily and as St Francis said, use words only if necessary. It is through a strong foundation, good nourishment and tending of the seeds that they produce many fruits. As we quickly approaching lent, it is crucial to reflect upon your life and begin preparation for this season. You need to decide where you have sown your seeds. Take some time to reflect upon your conscience. You should begin a deep examination of your soul to determine if your seeds are sown on the sidewalk or sown in the fertile fields. If your seeds are in the field, then are you allowing materialistic things between you and God? Lent is like running a marathon. If we practice and prepare for the Lenten season, we will finish the race. But if we are not prepared and well founded in our training, we will fail in our efforts. We should begin lent with a clean soul. Reconciliation helps to center our life and our journey through lent. Now is a great time to seek the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

A Simple Prayer

Lord Jesus, I have sown my seeds. Help me find the fertile soil.

Let me have the faith and wisdom to see your divine truth.

Open my ears to your call and my eyes to the Word so I can journey with you.

Yours in Christ

Michael Marcon