“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”” Matthew 8:18-23
Recently, while reading and meditating on this parable, God put a different interpretation on my heart. Something more personal.
We always hear this parable described in the larger ‘worldly” meaning. But, God made me understand in a personal way. God has planted us in the field, the field being the world. He has planted each of His followed as good wheat to bring large harvests of good fruit. But, as we grown in the world, the weeds of temptations and sins are strewn all around us. The enemy casts these weeds to strangle out any growth and if needed, kill the wheat itself. That’s us. He would desire nothing more then a crop of dead followed with only sin as a harvest.
Weeds left unhindered will grow to destroy and overtake the whole field. That’s where we are now as a world. The weeds are growing unchecked and souls are being lost in sin. More and more we look at the world and see more sin and sinful pushes than we do righteousness and Godly values and virtues.
How do we push back the weeds in our life and world? It’s easy to see that in a lawn, to get a lush, green lawn of grass we need to kill out the weeds. As the weeds are pushed back, the grass thickens and the weeds lose space to grow. In a wheat field or lawn, we use a mixture of weed killers and fertilizers. In the spiritual feed, it isn’t a much different tactic.
The weed killer we use is the Sacrament of Confession. The Sacrament of Mercy and God’s Divine Mercy kills the weeds of sin at their root. It may take time and multiple applications of the Sacrament and mercy to see the benefit and an ongoing lifetime battle to keep the weeds out. But, this is a fight that will be won if fought.
The spiritual fertilizer is Mass, studying the Bible, Saints and teachings of the Church (the Catechism). The Eucharist is like the sun to a growing field. All the power for growth and fruitfulness comes from the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus in the Eucharist. We certainly are filled with this power when we consume Him at Mass. But, we also get a strong dose in an hour of adoration.
When we ask for and receive His Divine Mercy and then approach Him in the Eucharist, the weeds are pushed back and the wheat flourishes. As we continue these practices and add those others (Bible, saints etc), we add growth the the field keeping the weeds from coming back as easily.
Is the field that is your life full of weeds? Go to the Sacrament of Confession, be reconciled with God and the Church then, run to the Eucharist. Go often. In between these visits, fill time with holy practices of prayer, Bible reading, studying the lives of the saints and digging into the Catechism. If you have a particularly deep rooted weed, find spiritual direction – a priest or brother/sister who can act as gardener to help dig that weed out at those roots.
Be patient, it takes a lot of work for the farmer to grow the perfect harvest.