Today, 9th of December, we celebrate
Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin
1 Tim 6:13-16
Beloved:
I charge you before God, who gives life to all things,
and before Christ Jesus,
who gave testimony under Pontius Pilate
for the noble confession,
to keep the commandment without stain or reproach
until the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ
that the blessed and only ruler
will make manifest at the proper time,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light,
and whom no human being has seen or can see.
To him be honor and eternal power. Amen.
Responsorial Psalm:
Ps 100:1b-2, 3, 4,
R./ Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Sing joyfully to the LORD all you lands;
serve the LORD with gladness;
come before him with joyful song.
R./ Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Know that the LORD is God;
he made us, his we are;
his people, the flock he tends.
R./ Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
his courts with praise;
Give thanks to him; bless his name.
R./ Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
For he is good:
the LORD, whose kindness endures forever,
and his faithfulness, to all generations.
R./ Come with joy into the presence of the Lord.
Lk 8:4-15
As a great crowd gathered and people came to him from every town, Jesus began teaching them through stories, or parables, "The sower went out to sow the seed. And as he sowed, some of the grain fell along the way, was trodden on and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and no sooner had it come up than it withered, because it had no water. Some fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with the seed and choked it. But some fell on good soil and grew, producing fruit-a hundred times as much." And Jesus cried out, "Listen then, if you have ears to hear!"
The disciples asked him, "What does this story mean?" And Jesus answered, "You have been granted to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to others it is given in the form of stories, or parables, so that seeing they may not perceive and hearing they may not understand."
Now, this is the point of the parable:
The seed is the word of God. Those along the wayside are people who hear it, but immediately the devil comes and takes the word from their minds, for he doesn't want them to believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are people who receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe for a while and give way in time of trial. Among the thorns are people who hear the word but as they go their way, are choked by worries, riches, and the pleasures of life; they bring no fruit to maturity. The good soil, instead, are people who receive the word and keep it in a gentle and generous mind, and persevering patiently, they bear fruit.
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.
Virginia Fernández
