THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Sexagesima Sunday 3 February 2013

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends,

Jesus has spoken in parables and the meaning of much of what He spoke is hidden from us because we are carnal and not spiritual. Our sins and fallen nature are the obstacle to our understanding and faith. Today however, Jesus has seen fit to explain the details of this parable. Since we are unable to rise up to Him, He has decided to come down to us. 

Jesus sets before us an orderly arrangement of the souls that are lost because they do not receive Him or His graces well. These graces abound for those that do receive Him well. There are three levels of those that were lost and three levels of blessedness. The birds of the air represent the devils. The devils attack the Word of God everywhere and in all types of soils (souls) but they carry away the Word of God most easily in souls that are hard and well traveled on. These souls allow all the joys and pleasures of the world to pass through them and so the Word of God can never even begin to germinate. The next type of soul the devils seldom bother because even though they do receive the Word of God and It germinates, they soon allow it to die off with the first temptation. Where the thorns are the Word of God can germinate and grow, but it is never allowed to completely develop. The riches of this world choke God’s Word. The world is a gift from God to draw us nearer to Him, but in our fallen nature we have put it before Him. And in this manner the riches of the world become thorns to wound our souls. They choke and rob God’s Word of light, moisture, and nourishment so that it never develops. It leaves us with a bit of Faith and Truth so we have the illusion of pleasing God but not the reality. We cannot have both equally growing in our hearts and souls. We cannot serve God and mammon.

If the Word of God is to mature we must labor for it in the preparation of our souls. The grape must be squeezed if the sweet wine is to come out; the olive must be pressed if the fat oil is to be obtained; the grain must be beaten if it is to be cleansed. So must we be squeezed, pressed, and beaten so that we may be made worthy to receive and properly develop the Word of God in us.

There are three categories that were lost so Jesus presents us with three that were saved. There are seeds that produced one hundred fold, sixty fold, and thirty fold. The degree of abundance is dependent first upon God who gives the increase where and when He wills, but secondarily it depends upon us, how well or thorough do we squeeze, press, and beat the worldly cares and corruption from us.

We must not expect that God does everything and leaves us nothing to do on our part. The seed is the same good seed that came down to all. It is the disposition of each soul that makes the difference. God has given the grace we must correspond and cooperate with Him, and the only way to do this is to make our souls receptive and worthy fertile soil for Him.

It is a difficult and painful thing to make ourselves clean, soft, and fertile soil, but it is a necessary thing. It is not in loving this world and the things of this world that is the problem, rather it is our disordered or inordinate love of these things. We should and must love God and all that God loves. All that God has made is good and should be loved. The problem lies when we love God’s creation more than Him. Our fallen nature has inverted love, instead of God being at the top we have placed Him at the bottom or somewhere in between. The pain comes from righting this love; tearing out or tearing down all the loves that we have placed above God and constantly striving to increase our love of Him.

The greater our love the more painful it becomes. But, let us not fear, God will help us if we truly desire it. The invitation to carry the cross and take up the cultivation of our souls enduring this pain and hardship is coupled not only with a future harvest of one hundred, sixty, or thirty fold, but also with the promise that even in this life the cross will be made light and sweet.

The squeezing, pressing, and beating though painful fill us with the joy of the wine, oil, and grain that we are producing. Once we begin breaking up, softening, and fertilizing the soil of our hearts we find it is likewise a labor that is light and sweet. May we find this joy in our labors for our souls and for God even in this life, but especially may we rejoice in a fruitful harvest of God’s goodness in eternity.