THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH Her Doctrine and Morals Sexagesima Sunday 12 February 2012

The Sunday Sermon

Dear Friends, 

The word of God’s grace comes to each of us. The word is the same, but the manner in which it is received differs widely. 

In today’s Gospel parable, Jesus gives us the example of seed being sown. The seed itself is good and each kernel has the potential to produce fruit a hundredfold. What makes the seed produce less or even none at all? It is dependent upon the soil in which it is planted. The best soil will produce the hundredfold, poorer soil will produce sixtyfold, or thirtyfold or even none at all. 

We often fail to make the right comparison when it comes to understanding the parables. Too often we think of the individuals’ bodies as the different types of soil. Our flesh bodies are the same from one to the next, so it cannot be that this parable is speaking of our bodies, but rather of our souls. Our souls are likewise the same; every one made in the image of God. How then are we to account for the different soils in the different persons? We must look to our free will. It is in the will that we make ourselves receptive and fertile ground for the word of God to become fruitful and multiply. 

The seed that was carried away by the birds, we are told, represents the word of God being snatched away by the devils. We often tend to think that such persons were never really given a fair chance. After all, what could they do to prevent this happening? Was it not God that created them or placed them in this circumstance where the devils have such easy access to them? This way of thinking is an easy trap for many to fall into. We often forget that with our will we can reject the world constantly passing through our souls, not only creating a hardened path but even a highway were the world and the devils have frequent and constant access. It was the freedom of the will in choosing to allow this constant passage that created the unfavorable soil for the word of God to enter and bear fruit. The word, or grace, of God is the same for all but these poor souls have already given the devils such access that there is no opening left for God. Their souls have become packed and hard and therefore impenetrable. 

The stone represents those souls who with their own free will have become fickle. The word is taken up and germinates but in the heat of temptation it dries up and dies. These souls are a little better than the previous ones because the devils have not taken over such direct influence but rather, the devils must work through alternate means and inflame the passions with evil desires. Instead of snatching the seed away before it can germinate, they must destroy it after it has germinated. Once again, it is the free will that has created this situation. The will is in the habit of switching back and forth from good to evil. In this poor soul the will has made it impossible for God’s grace to become truly effective, because it never allows it enough time to take root and develop. Good desires are too quickly followed by evil ones. The will has chosen this fickle path and is therefore unsuited for producing any good fruit. 

The next type of soul or soil is that filled with thorns and weeds. These poor souls have chosen of their own free will to allow everything and anything to take root in their souls. There has been no discretion at all. There has been no effort to eliminate one or cultivate the other. It is a will that has become slothful, and careless. These souls try to do the impossible and serve both God and mammon. They want to serve two mutually exclusive masters. They rationalize that they can live a worldly or indulgent life and still somehow save their own souls. They are a little better than the previous types of souls, but are still far from the mark. The grace of God is not taken directly away by devils, nor is it withered up and killed with the first heats of temptation, but it does take root and begin to grow and develop. The problem is that there is so much competition for nutrients, moisture and light that nothing does well. The plant grows spindly and weak. These souls likewise cannot produce any fruit; they are too weak because the will has not been diligent in rejecting or eliminating the evil that needs to be eradicated. 

Lastly we find the good ground where the will has prepared the soul for the reception of God’s grace. It has heard the call of St. John the Baptist to level the path, filling up the voids and tearing down the mountains of evil, straightening out the crooked ways, and smoothing out the rough ways. These souls with their good will have become fertile soil for God’s grace. Yet, even here they are not all alike. Some did such a good job in eliminating all the obstacles and fertilizing and preparing themselves for this grace that they produce fruit a hundredfold; others who’s free wills were not as diligent bore sixtyfold or thirtyfold, each depending upon the use that they made of their free wills. 

So we see that it is not the material things that are the obstacles to our spiritual development, but rather the choices we make with our free wills. It is not riches that bar one from heaven, but the love of these riches more than the love of God. The rich, if with the freedom of their wills, choose to give God the place of preference, seeking to use God’s gifts for His greater honor and glory, merit heaven and find that the blessings of this world are more helpful rather than harmful. Those on the other hand, who will not cultivate their free wills, find just the opposite: the goods of this world become obstacles to their salvation, because they choose to love the things of this earth more than God.