The good ground

ONE of the very popular parables in the gospel is that of

the sower and the seed. (cfr. Mt 13,1-23; Mk 4,1-20; Lk 8,1-15) There

we are told about the four kinds of soil on which the seeds of the

sower fell. There were seeds that fell on the pathway, on a rocky

ground, on thorns and finally on a good ground.

            Applied to us, the soil that we should try to be is the

last one, the good ground, where the seeds that fell on it took root

and bore fruit. We should try to avoid being a pathway where the seed

that fell on it could not take root and were quickly picked up by

birds.

            Neither should we be like the rocky ground where the seeds

cannot live long since they cannot sink their roots deep enough. Nor

should we be like the thorns where some seeds also fell. These thorns

are like weeds that would eventually choke the seeds.

            For us to be a good ground, we have to see to it that our

mind and heart are always receptive to the things of God. In a manner

of speaking, we need to prepare our mind and heart, tilling them every

so often, enriching them with some fertilizers, allowing them to rest

and fallow after harvest time, so that the things of God can easily

take root and produce fruit.

            This means that we should spend some time praying,

studying the sacred doctrine of our faith, availing of the sacraments,

especially those of confession and the Holy Eucharist, developing the

virtues, making sacrifices, doing apostolate and works of mercy, etc.

            In that way, our mind and heart would be properly attuned

to the things of God which actually are what are good and proper to

us. We should realize more deeply that we need to do these things to

keep our mind and heart in their proper condition, since it is very

easy for us to take them for granted.

            In that way, we become more sensitive to God’s will and

ways and more able to cooperate in them. We would avoid becoming what

Christ said about those with hardened minds and hearts: “Do you still

not see or understand? Do you have such hard hearts? Having eyes, do

you not see? And having ears, do you not hear?” (Mk 8,7-8)

            We have to feel the need to encourage everyone to make

themselves a good ground for the things of God by doing their part of

preparing their minds and hearts properly.

            Yes, we need to pray, which is actually more of listening

and discerning what God is telling and showing us, than of us talking

to him. For this we ought to have the proper dispositions by

enlivening our faith, having recourse to the sacraments, studying the

doctrine of our faith, etc., so we can be more perceptive of what God

is showing us.

            Given the temper of the times when we are pressured to be

very active at the expense of our need to be contemplative, we have to

make some sustained effort to accompany, catechize, motivate and lead

others to the realization that we have to learn to be real

contemplatives even in the middle of the world, so that we can be a

good ground for God’s will and ways.

            The world today needs genuine men and women of God who

cooperate actively in God’s continuing work of human redemption. We

should start with our own selves, and with apostolic zeal let us help

others to be also men and women of God.

            Now that the world is flooded with many absorbing

developments that can hijack us from our proper relationship with God

and with others, we have to be more determined to make ourselves the

good ground so that we can be true men and women of God!