Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
September 18, 2021
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.”
When Jesus explains the parable, it seems like that’s it. It’s a simple allegory for how people receive God’s word. That seems to be all, but when I read this passage, a different theme emerged for me. Instead of only thinking about what kind of soil we are, I also considered how we are called to cooperate with the sower’s work.
One temptation is to take little ownership of this calling, and people often use the parable in this way: “We just plant the seeds, and you never know how it will turn out!” I work with people in parish ministry, and sometimes my peers and I catch ourselves saying this, hoping things will turn out well but with plenty of uncertainty as to how things will grow.
It’s easy and good to see ourselves as an extension of the sower, tossing seeds generously, without a care for how they land, and trusting that God will make them grow. There’s no doubt Jesus wants us to share the Good News with the whole earth and to every creature. But there’s more to do.
We are not just sowers but workers in the vineyard of the Lord. We need to encourage one another and build each other up. Who needs to hear the word again and again and in a way that it takes deep root in their heart so the devil cannot snatch it away? What rocks prevent the word from taking root in the heart of our family and friends? How have poor experiences with the Church, misunderstandings, or scandals prevented God’s word from taking root? It is important that we ask for the courage to enter into these conversations so that, with God’s grace, we might remove the rocks and help heal the wounds.
Jesus’s parable inspires us to both be good soil and to help others do the same. It’s time to till the earth and tend the seed.
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
María de la Purísima Salvat Romero (20 February 1926 – 31 October 1998), is one of the saints to recently join the Roman liturgical calendar, beatified in Seville on September 18, 2010, by the Archbishop and canonized on October 18, 2015, by Pope Francis in Rome.
María joined the Sisters of the Company of the Cross on the feast of the Immaculate Conception, December 8, 1944. She was elected to the position of Superior General of the Congregation in 1977 and was re-elected three times, remaining in that position until her death in 1998. While working tirelessly to renew her congregation, updating their congregation and promoting faithfulness to the church during turbulent times, María de la Purísima made the time to meet each morning with the sick and the poor who came to the sisters for assistance, both bodily and spiritual. She passed away of cancer in 1998.
She is second only to John Paul II (18 May 1920- 2 April 2005, canonized 27 April 2014) in speed of canonization among modern saints.
She is a patron saint of the Sisters of the Company of the Holy Cross and of the Spanish city of Seville.
Saint María de la Purísima, who worked tirelessly for Christ embodied in her community and in the least of our brothers and sisters, pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. María de la Purísima is available for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license. Last accessed April 2, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
