Sunday, July 16th, 2023 – Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time - Cycle A Readings: Isaiah 55:10-11, Psalm 65 “The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest”, Romans 8:18-23, Matthew 13:1-2

                                THE WORD OF GOD IS FRUITFUL
      The Word of God is like a seed that God plants in the heart of man and bears fruit in the measure that it is received. The grace of salvation is offered to everyone but it is also always conditioned by the each person’s free response. Some hear it, and others don’t; some make it the center of their lives, while others go their way indifferently.
Sisters and Brothers:
     1. Why is it that so many of our good deeds remain sterile and fruitless? It is because they are empty of the Word of God. Our consumerist, hedonistic civilization has hardened man’s heart so much that he is no longer able to understand why and how Christ would cure his heart! What are the obstacles that prevent the growing of grace within my soul? Does each day’s “traffic” keep me from thinking about the ultimate meaning of my life? Is it because there is no silent time where I can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit? Or is my soil full of “rocks and thorns” because of my inconstancy in good intentions and my attachment to the things of this world?
     2. In a world that is run by criteria of efficiency and power, it is easy for me to fall into the temptation of thinking my worth is based on the appearance I give to others or their apparent acceptance of me. When this happens I begin to do things just to keep my reputation or to get to a higher position; I work in order to stay ahead of everyone else; I live more concerned with having than with being; I think I can achieve anything I want without the help of others, and I fall into a pride filled self-sufficiency. Yes, I need to recognize my talents, but I must always see them as gifts from God and a call to be responsible. Here’s a thought that should strengthen my commitment to those around me: “I am responsible for the world that surrounds me. No one can replace me in my task of orienting my life according to God’s will.” And so I am consoled by Christ’s promise: “Without me you can do nothing.”
     3. The most generous almsgiving would be worthless, as would the most beautiful discourses and the most spectacular initiatives, if they are not born from a heart that is truly in love with God. God has sowed his grace in our hearts on the day of our baptism. It grows with our reception of the sacraments and our practice of the virtues; it is made fruitful by our good works and by the testimony of our Christian life. It is up to us whether or not God’s grace will bear fruit, and this is a comforting and motivating thought. The sower told no one “from you I expect thirty, from you seventy…” Rather, he reminds each one of us: “The first commandment applies to everyone” and he tells all of us to “be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. Can we not say with St. Augustine, “If this saint and this other saint have reached holiness, why can’t I?” Let’s ask for this grace today.
Amen.
Fr. Paschal Chester, SVD