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Commentary on the Gospel of September 20, 2025
When I hear today’s Gospel passage, I am reminded of that text in Matthew where John the Baptist says that God can raise up children of Abraham from the very stones.
In this parable, Jesus describes a kind of “typology” of human beings, shown in how they respond—or fail to respond—to the announcement of the Good News.
The parable presents a sower who seems rather careless, or maybe inexperienced. He scatters the good seed everywhere, and as a result, much of it falls where it cannot take root. Perhaps that is why the disciples beg Him to explain the meaning of what they have just heard. And this is why I recall the words about the children of Abraham… Maybe because I see myself in the rocky soil where nothing can grow, but also in the other types: the thorny ground, or the pathway where birds come quickly to eat the seed. Seldom do I see myself as the good soil. Perhaps many people feel the same way. And it does not comfort me to know that others share this weakness; instead, I feel sadness at how widespread this human condition is. Even those of us who have been washed of sin through Baptism are not completely free.
I asked AI about this, and here is the reply: Baptism does not remove all the effects of original sin because, while it restores our relationship with God and erases the guilt of original sin, it does not take away the inclination to evil (concupiscence), the weakness of our human nature, or the reality of mortality. These are lasting consequences of sin that require spiritual struggle and divine grace for their final healing. (Clearly, AI has read the Catechism).
Whenever I remember this parable, I ask the Lord to take the barren ground of my soul and transform it into fertile soil that bears fruit. I invite you to do the same.
Saint John Paul II canonized Andrew Kim Taegon along with 103 other Korean martyrs. In today’s Collect we pray: “O God […] who made the blood of the holy martyrs […] the fertile seed of Christians, grant that, strengthened by their help, we may always move forward by following their example.” Amen.