Daily Gospel Reflection
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September 20, 2025
When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another
journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable.
“A sower went out to sow his seed.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled,
and the birds of the sky ate it up.
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew,
it withered for lack of moisture.
Some seed fell among thorns,
and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew,
it produced fruit a hundredfold.”
After saying this, he called out,
“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
Then his disciples asked him
what the meaning of this parable might be.
He answered,
“Knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God
has been granted to you;
but to the rest, they are made known through parables
so that they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.
“This is the meaning of the parable.
The seed is the word of God.
Those on the path are the ones who have heard,
but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts
that they may not believe and be saved.
Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear,
receive the word with joy, but they have no root;
they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation.
As for the seed that fell among thorns,
they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along,
they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life,
and they fail to produce mature fruit.
But as for the seed that fell on rich soil,
they are the ones who, when they have heard the word,
embrace it with a generous and good heart,
and bear fruit through perseverance.”
Today, Jesus tells us that the Word of God is like seed scattered on different kinds of soil, and here in the Notre Dame family, we have all been blessed with the chance to become rich soil. Through our encounters at Our Lady’s University, the Lord has planted his Word deep within our hearts. Sometimes this growth feels beautiful and natural; other times it requires patient effort, perseverance, and trust in God’s grace during trials. Yet, in both the little moments and the significant ones, we see that the Lord is at work in us, tending his seed.
Undeniably, God speaks to us and takes root in countless ways: through a conversation with a classmate, the simple joy of nature on God Quad, the quiet presence of a friend in times of sorrow, the kindness of dining hall staff, a professor’s extra help, or even the shared laughter of a competitive game of hacky sack. Each of these is a reminder that God’s Word is alive and active, nourishing us through encounters with God’s people and creation.
But Jesus reminds us that hearing the Word is only the beginning—the true test is whether we let it grow in “a generous and good heart,” persevering so that it bears fruit. At Notre Dame, we have been formed to receive the Word with open hearts. Now, we are called to let that Word transform us into people of charity and witness—the golden standard of this community.
The truest reality is that we have all been given knowledge of the kingdom of God. The question I invite all of us to ponder is, how do we persevere and share it with others? What does going forth bearing fruit look like in our daily lives?
Prayer
Lord, you explained the meaning of the parable so the disciples could understand more fully. This day some things may happen that we do not fully understand. But as did the disciples, let us trust you and put our faith in you. Open our hearts and minds so that we, even with our lack of complete understanding, know you are guiding us and leading us this day. We pray this to you our God, forever and ever. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Andrew Kim Tae-gon is the first native-born Korean priest, and is patron saint of Korea. He was martyred with nearly 10,000 other Koreans, mostly lay people, before Christianity was tolerated in Korea in 1884. Today, we venerate nearly 100 of these Koreans who have been declared saints, including Andrew and a layman, Paul Chong Hasang.
The first Christians in Korea were baptized by invading Japanese soldiers in the late 1500s. The faith slowly grew, and then in 1777, several Christian texts made their way to Korea and converted some scholars. When a missionary priest visited the country more than a decade later, he found 4,000 Christians living without the sacraments. They had never seen a priest before.
The Korean monarchy feared Christianity as a colonizing force and repressed it with several violent persecutions between 1791 and 1866. Andrew’s parents were converts to the faith, and his father, grandfather, and several uncles were executed for it. Andrew’s mother was left destitute and had to rely on begging for survival.
Andrew was baptized at the age of 15, and soon after left for Macao, China—1,200 miles away—to enter a seminary there. After further missionary work, he was ordained a priest and returned to Korea to minister and evangelize. Two years later, at the age of 25, he was captured as he made his way along the Korean shoreline to find safe and secret passages for other missionaries. He was tortured and beheaded on September 26, 1846.
Before he was killed, Andrew wrote his fellow Christians: “We have received baptism, entrance into the Church, and the honor of being called Christians. Yet what good will this do us if we are Christians in name only and not in fact?”
Paul Chong Hasang was also the son of converts to Christianity. He was born in 1795, and though several members of his family were also martyred, he also sought the faith. He took a job serving a government interpreter, which allowed him to travel to Beijing. There, he asked the bishop to establish a diocese in Korea and send priests, which happened in 1825.
As a lay leader and married man, Paul was a unifying figure for Christians and advocated for them to the Korean government. When another persecution broke out, he was arrested and tried. He gave a written statement to the judge, who read it and said, "You are right in what you have written; but the king forbids this religion, it is your duty to renounce it." Paul replied, "I have told you that I am a Christian, and will be one until my death." He was tortured, then placed on a cross and died. His mother, Cecelia Yu Sosa, was also martyred that same year from injuries following repeated whippings.
When he visited Korea in 1984, Pope St. John Paul II canonized Andrew and Paul, along with 98 other Koreans and three French missionary priests. Of the group, 47 were lay women and 45 were lay men.
St. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang, and the martyrs who died for the faith in Korea, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Sts. Andrew Kim Tae-gŏn, Paul Chŏng Ha-sang, and Companions is available for use under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. Last accessed April 2, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
