What kind of seed am I?

 My dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus: One Sunday a teacher brought four flower pots to class. In the first part the soil was hard like concrete. In the second there were many stones. In the third, the soil was full of weeds. In the fourth, the soil was fertile and rich. The teacher then planted the same seeds in all four pots. After a few weeks only the fourth pot produced beautiful flowers. Then she asked the students: Was there anything wrong with the seed? No, they replied. Then the teacher said "The difference was not in the seed it was in the soil”.

This is exactly the message of today's Gospel. Jesus is the sower. The seed is the word of God. The soil is our heart. The question today is not whether God is speaking. The real question is what kind of soil is my Heart.

The Four Types of Soil Today: Jesus describes four kinds of hearts.

The path: Hearts closed by pride or indifference. The Word never enters. These are people who hear God's word but never allow it to enter their hearts. A priest once jokingly said "Many Catholics are like mobile phones in airplane mode”. God keeps sending messages but nothing gets through.

Rocky ground: People who begin enthusiastically but quit when difficulties come. Many people are enthusiastic when everything goes well, they attend retreats, they sing loudly and they promise God many things but when difficulties come like sickness, criticism, failure and disappointment their faith would rise up.

Thorny Ground:(Distracted Heart) hearts distracted by money, entertainment, anxiety, and constant busyness. Jesus explains that these thorns are worries, riches and worldly attractions. Many of us are not rejecting God we are simply too busy for him.

Good soil (Receptive Heart): hearts that hear, understand, and live God’s Word every day. Finally, some seed fell on good soil and produced 30, 60 and even 100fold. The good soil is not perfect soil, it simply welcomes the seed. God does not ask us to be perfect before coming to Him, He asks us to be open.

The question is not which soil we were yesterday. The question is: What kind of soil will I choose to be today?

A woman spent hours planting beautiful flowers in her garden. A neighbor asked, what makes your garden so beautiful? She smiled and replied, I remove the weeds every morning. The flowers were beautiful not simply because she planted them, but because she continually removed whatever prevented them from growing. The same is true of the spiritual life. Confession removes the weeds of sin. Prayer removes the weeds of anxiety.

The Eucharist strengthens our roots. Acts of charity bear fruit for others.

This week let us ask ourselves: Am I giving God’s Word time every day? What thorns are choking my spiritual life? Is there resentment or sin making my heart hard? What one change can I make so my heart becomes better soil?

My dear friends three ways to become good soil. First: pray daily even 10 sincere minutes with God can soften the hardest heart. Second: read the word of God without fail. Third remove the weeds like anger, jealousy, excessive worry, hatred, sinful habits and unhealthy distractions.

Today Jesus is not asking how much do we know about the Bible, He is asking what kind of soil are we? Are we the hardened path? The rocky ground? The thorny soil? or the fertile field? Every Mass is another moment when the Divine Sower walks through His field. Today He is sowing His Word into your heart and mine.

Let us pray that when Christ looks upon our hearts, He may find not barren ground, but rich soil ready to bear abundant fruit for His Kingdom. Then the seed of God’s Word will produce a harvest not thirtyfold, not sixtyfold, but a hundredfold in our families, our parish, and our lives.

Amen.