What does the parable mean?

Jesus teachings because it is drawn from the ordinary popular life exeriences of people.

The heart is important in receiving God’s word.

Clean our hearts from things that might choke the fertile capacity of God’s word to grow in our lives.

It determines the abundance of harvest one could make when listening to God’s word.

 

 Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊      

Jeremiah 3:14-17

Come back, faithless people –

It is Yahweh who speaks – for I am your master. I will select one from a city and two from a family and bring you to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and prudence. And when you have increased and multiplied in the land in those days – it is Yahweh who speaks – people will no longer speak of the Ark of the Covenant of Yahweh; it will not be remembered or missed, nor shall it be made again!

 

Then they will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of Yahweh' and all the nations will gather there to honor the name of Yahweh; and no longer will they follow the stubbornness of their wicked hearts.

 

Jer 31:10, 11-12abcd, 13 The Lord will guard us as a shepherd guards his flock.

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 13:18-23

Now listen to the parable of the sower.

When a person hears the message of the kingdom, but does not take it seriously, the devil comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed that fell along the foot-path.

The seed that fell on rocky ground stands for the one who hears the word, and accepts it at once with joy. But such a person has no roots, and endures only for a while. No sooner is he harassed or persecuted because of the word, than he gives up.

 

The seed that fell among the thistles is the one who hears the word; but then, the worries of this life and the love of money choke the word; and it does not bear fruit. As for the seed that fell on good soil, it is the one who hears the word and understands it; this seed bears fruit and produces a hundred, or sixty, or thirty times more."

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"The seeds of goodness."

We continue our faith journey while being guided by Jesus' parables in Matthew 13. In today's Gospel, Jesus explained to his disciples the parable of the sower. Jesus put emphasis to the importance of hearing by which the one hearing the message truly understands what is being conveyed. There are many practices we do which we actually do not understand.

 

To mention one; often, we do not really know the spirit behind the religious practice we perform. Hence, our faith does not truly grow because the seeds of goodness already sown in our hearts are stifled. The seeds of goodness sown are merely falling on deaf ears. We may reflect on the many rituals we had already performed and yet seemingly did not change us at all.

 

There are times when we are so inspired by what we hear inside the Mass but are not able to put them into practice after the celebration. It could happen that we may be attending celebrations such as the Mass simply because we see it as a mere obligation but our hearts are hardly there. If this is the case, we will not yield fruits in abundance. We are called to have a deeper relationship with God's Word.