Dear Parishioner,
It was wonderful to have the church reopen for Mass last weekend and also to have the opportunity to catch up and say hello to some of you.
Our readings for this 15th Sunday of Year A are from Isaiah 55:10-11, Psalm 64:10-14, the letter of St Paul to the Romans 8:18-23 and Matthew’s Gospel 13:1-23.
Over the next three weeks our Gospel readings are parables. Today we start with the parable of the sower. The sower is sowing seeds across different types of land and Jesus compares the word to a seed. It’s a wonderful rich image about hearing the word of the Kingdom and this parable speaks to us today. It’s about us being receptive to the word and letting it enter into our hearts to take root and grow.
However, we have to do more than just let it in. I’m sure most of you will have had a plant in the house or outside in the garden which was neglected and withered. That plant had grown from a seed but it needed continued nourishment to enable it to flourish. It’s the same with the word of God. When we receive the word with an open and generous heart we are nourishing our souls. God will have a place in our lives and if God has a place our lives then we will be much more fruitful and joyful.
I end today’s news letter with a prayer/reflection* from Flor McCarthy SDB:
The word of God is to the human heart what a seed is to the earth.
And just as a seed needs favourable soil, so the word of God needs a receptive heart.
Lord, soften our hearts with the rain of your grace,
And warm them with the sun of your love,
so that the precious seed of your word
may take root in our hearts, and bear fruit in our lives.
Yours in Christ,
