Reflections on Scripture | Memorial of Saint Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Join Msgr. Don Fischer as he reads and delivers a short reflection on today’s gospel, followed by 3 1/2 minutes of contemplative music and a closing prayer. Msgr. Don hopes that today’s reflection on the gospel will empower you to carry the Word in your heart throughout the day.

Choose either the video or audio below.

Gospel
Matthew 13:1-9

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
"A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."

Reflection

The beauty of a parable is how many meanings you can find within it. And this one is so clearly talking about rich, fertile soil. and who creates it? I mean, how do you make rich, good soil?

You don't make it. It's what redemption really is. Redemption is the gift from God, it’s also called faith, that creates in a human being and openness to things beyond their imagining. And when they receive these images and thoughts and they hold them and they ponder them and they turn them around and look at them again, they have that reflective life, it is always going to be so fruitful.

Pay attention to signs. Pay attention to your ideas, and know that they are there if they come from God to produce something wonderful. Something life giving for you and the people around you.

Closing Prayer

Father, the fertile ground is always our heart. It is an organ that thinks and feels just like the brain, yet it doesn't need proof in order to believe. And it doesn't want to be just a blind follower of somebody else's authority. No, it wants a relationship that is dynamic and growing and changing. Bless us with an awareness of this gift, of your truth, constantly evolving and growing within us. And we ask this in Jesus’ name, Amen.

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Kyle Cross