A sower went out to sow . . .
Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, Ireland, New Zealand)
Readings (English
Standard Version, Catholic Edition: England & Wales, Scotland, India)
Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)
Gospel Matthew 13:1-23 (English Standard Version)
At that time: Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.’
Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ And he answered them, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
‘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 has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along 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 he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he 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 deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.’
Green Wheat Fields. . . Other seeds fell on good soil , , ,
Wheatfield with Reaper at Sunrise. . . and produced grain . . .
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Harvest at La Crau (The Blue Cart). . . some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty . . .
Wheat Field with a Lark. . . He who has ears, let him hear
In the spring of 1982 I made the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius at Loyola House, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. We spent 40 days there, a few days of preparation for the Thirty-Day Retreat proper and five days of reflection on the experience afterwards. One of the spiritual directors, though not my own, was an American Jesuit priest named George. He was probably in his 60s at the time. He had worked for some years in South America and he was a recovering alcoholic.
One evening I saw Father George come out of the Jesuit residence dressed very nattily, wearing a rather nice sports jacket and hat, his pipe in one hand - and his rosary beads in the other. I said to myself, 'That man has it all together!'
He gave unusual homilies, laced with a delightfully dry and ironic humour. One was simply about a tiny bird - I think it was a species of hummingbird - that migrates each year in both directions between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America, without stopping. All of us listening were filled with awe at God's creation, at the power and endurance of one of God's creatures, one that didn't have the power of reasoning but that knew how to get from one end of the landmass of the Americas to the other and to know where to go.
The First Reading and its Responsorial Psalm along with the Gospel invite us to reflect on how God's word takes root in our hearts. But they also invite us to reflect on God's bounty as revealed in nature itself. Isaiah tells us in the First Reading that it is impossible for the rain and snow that God sends not to bear fruit: For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it (Isaiah 55:10-11).
Sunny Lawn in a Public ParkPsalm 64 [65], the Responsorial Psalm, echoes this:
You crown the year with your bounty
Jesus takes something simple in nature
as an example of how God's word, God's very life, takes root in our lives. But
we can see God's loving power, presence and bounty in the seed itself, without
drawing any analogies or other meanings from it. Those of us who aren't from a
farming background can take for granted the food that lands on our table. All
the nourishment that we find in a loaf of bread or in a bowl of rice is there
already in the grains the farmer sows. The seed of a husband fertilized by the
egg of his wife becomes a new human being containing already in its microscopic
size all that will be evident when that person is born and grows to maturity.
There is great emphasis today on the
urgency of respecting nature and of not abusing it, in order to avoid possible
disastrous consequences.
But the basic reason we should respect
all of nature is that it is an expression of God's infinite bounty 'singing' in
its own way: the valleys . . . shout and sing together for joy.
Father George conveyed something of
that to all of us on retreat in Guelph 44 years ago. Another Jesuit
priest, Gerard Manley Hopkins, captured that in some of his poems,
including Pied Beauty, published 29 years after his death and 41
years after he wrote it, rather like the seed being buried in the ground in
spring and bearing fruit at harvest-time.
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In your charity pray for the soul of Vincent van Gogh who, through his paintings, revealed so much of the beauty of God in nature and in people and yet suffered greatly in his own life. Pray for all who are walking in darkness. And pray for the souls of all who, like Vincent, have taken their own lives.
Traditional Latin Mass
Seventh Sunday After Pentecost
The Complete Mass in Latin and English is here. (Adjust the date at the top of that page to 07-12-2026 if necessary).
Epistle: Romans 6:19-23. Gospel: Matthew 7:15-21.
Peach Tree in BlossomVincent van Gogh [Web Gallery of Art]
A sound tree cannot bear evil fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit (Matthew 7:18; Gospel).
