How do you fit into the parable of the sower? Which type of ground applies to your life right now? Are you the “path” who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in your heart? Are you the rocky ground who hears the word and receives it at once with joy, but don’t let the seed take root, and when some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, you immediately fall away? Are you the one among thorns who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit? Are you the one who allows the seed to be sown on rich soil and who hears the word and understands it, and who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold? I can honestly say that at times, I can fall into any one of these categories, especially during these times within which we find ourselves living. This is why I must continue to immerse myself in the Word of God. This is why I have to fight to make time for prayer. It is parables like this that remind me that I am not perfect…that I need God to cultivate the soil in my heart with His sanctifying grace…that I need to constantly seek God’s wisdom to see when the soil of my heart is not fertile and to turn to Him for strength. As one of our parishioners, James Griffin, always reminds me, “we all need Jesus”! Friends, it is my prayer that each of us will allow today’s Gospel to pierce our hearts with the truth contained in this parable of the sower. It is my prayer that we will allow the Holy Spirit to enlighten our minds and convict our hearts of any ways in which we are not allowing Jesus to sow the truth of the Gospel in our hearts. I can only speak for myself; I need to be reminded constantly that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life…that there is no other way to the Father except through Him. Please be assured of my daily prayers for each of you, and please continue to pray for me. Your brother in Christ, Fr. Jim Lowe, CC