Jesus reveals how men become truly fruitful in the Parable of the Sower. Every Catholic man can grow in happiness by seeking the Fruit of Self-control from the Holy Spirit so he can abstain from corrupting media and saturate his soul with Christ and by growing in the Virtue of Gratitude so he can reject virtual worlds and draw closer to God in His Creation.
Liturgy
16th Week in Ordinary time – Wednesday – Mt 13:1-9
Commentary
After clashing with the murderous Pharisees, Jesus teaches huge crowds with a series of parables (Mt 13) about the hidden mysteries of His Kingdom. A parable is a short story that uses familiar images to draw the willing to ponder a cryptic deeper spiritual truth. Jesus uses parables to draw the humble to ponder and hunger for God, while concealing His teachings from the prideful whose hardened hearts prevent their understanding, and to pronounce judgment on those who reject Him.
Leaving the house (likely Peter’s), Jesus goes out by the Sea of Galilee and sits, assuming the honored posture of a rabbi. Because of the crush of a great crowd, He went out in a boat to teach those standing on the shore. Using His knowledge of natural acoustics and His robust voice, thousands on the shore can hear Him.
Jesus teaches with the Parable of the Sower, using familiar agricultural imagery to connect with the crowd, and Jews would recall the “Sower” often refers to God in the Old Testament (Is 55:10-11; Jer 31:27-28). This magnificent parable describes the disposition of men to hear God, the Spiritual Combat, the confirmation of Satan’s work in the world to corrupt the souls of men, and God’s expectation that men are to be highly fruitful in building His Kingdom on earth.
Be awed by Jesus Christ
Be awed by Jesus, the Divine Prophet: the perfection of Human Knowledge, He purposefully incarnates and lives three decades on earth, experiencing in a deep way the lives and culture of His people, which He uses to craft powerful parables that speak to men across the ages; Divine Knowledge, Jesus accurately surveys, assesses and summarizes four categories of reaction to His Gospel; He teaches with mysterious parables which are designed to be obtuse and confusing to those who lack true desire for God but are understandable and memorable to those hungry for God; Divine Judge, He mercifully Warns men of their coming destruction if they reject Him.
Abstain from corrupting media and saturate your soul with Christ
Realize: Instead of preparing (becoming good soil) by growing in knowledge (the seed) of Jesus (the Sower) through disciplined study of Scripture and the Catechism, many men become wastrels (bad soil) by frittering away hours a day on the internet, saturating their minds with the “bad seed” of useless information, hateful views, and even damning filth; men who become bad soil and plant bad seeds can not be fruitful for Christ.
Believe: Reflect upon the Wisdom of Christ (CCC 215-217, 426-429).
Pray: Holy Spirit, give me the Fruit of Self-Control so I have the discipline to abstain from media which pollutes my soul and darkens my mind, and work to fill my mind with the Wisdom and knowledge of Jesus and become evermore fruitful in serving Jesus and His Holy Catholic Church.
Reject virtual worlds and draw close to God in Creation
Realize: Today, the rich and powerful are seducing people to live their lives in a “virtual world”, a fake world created by anonymous men; every Catholic man should be suspicious of fake man-made worlds and instead imitate Jesus by spending more time with others in the beautiful real world Creation He made for men.
Believe: Reflect upon God’s Creation of The Visible World (CCC 299, 337-354).
Pray: Jesus, King of Creation, help me build the Virtue of Gratitude (a part of Justice) so I am awed by Your Creation, give thanks and glory to You for this beautiful gift, and I enjoy, am renewed, and drawn closer to You in the beautiful natural world.