16th Week in Ordinary Time (B) : Friday 26th July 2024

It is said that God loves each of us as if there were only one of us. This beautiful thought of God’s prodigious love is likened to the generous sower who lavishly sows his  field without calculation or precision, and without a thought of where these might land. Why had he not chosen and prepared his soil and plotted his rows for a maximum harvest?

This is because the seeds, representing the Word of God, are given to all of humanity. It goes out into the whole world to transform anyone who will accept it. Thus, today’s parable is not about us but for us  to ponder on the various obstacles that can hinder us from hearing His Word and profiting  from it.

Are our hearts so hardened with sin that His words are not able to penetrate us? Are our feeble hearts troubled and weakened by trials and persecutions when we speak the truth? Are we distracted by, and preoccupied with, worldly goods and pleasure that we have lost focus on Him? Or are our hearts rightly disposed and oriented towards loving and serving Him? Our dispositions may vary but when  we listen to the Word of God intently and  cooperate with His  grace, it makes a pathway from our ears to our heart. From the heart it passes to the hands and to good deeds. Virtues are formed. This is our journey to holiness.

Grant me, my God, a heart that is disposed towards You alone. Amen.