What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. – 1 Corinthians 15:36

       “Yesssss!” Matthew exclaimed. “Why? What happened?” I asked. He had a gleeful look on his face and said, “I beat Tiger Woods.”

       I smiled and said, “Good for you.”

       Then he went back to the computer to continue playing his golf game.

       My husband, Matthew, loves golf. Although he cannot play on a real golf course, he is an avid fan of the game. He would watch every golf tournament on TV, read about it on the web and even play a virtual game on the computer.

       One time I asked him, “What is it about golf that you love so much?”

      “I feel peaceful when I watch golfers playing on TV — the green grass, tall trees, beautiful flowers, the slow paced game, all in all it gives me a feeling of serenity. Yet there is also the excitement of watching who would win and score the lowest point,” he told me.

       Weird, isn’t it? With golf, the lower the score, the closer you are to winning the game.

       I believe it’s the same with life. It’s only when I choose to die to my selfishness and pride will I ever stand a chance of winning in the game of life. Marisa Aguas (jojangaguas@yahoo.com)

Dear Lord, teach me to be generous, that others may see You in me.

Sts. Andrew Kim Taegon, Paul Chong Hasang and Companions, martyrs, pray for us.

Paul is not concerned about what God does at the resurrection. His concern is for the fact that God does it and our response to it. What God has done for us will benefit us very little unless we appropriate it through a decision of faith. It is up to us to live lives of holiness and integrity so that what we have gained — the hope of eternal life — will not be lost by reverting to our sinful ways.

35 Brothers and sisters: Someone may say, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come back?” 36 You fool! What you sow is not brought to life unless it dies. 37 And what you sow is not the body that is to be but a bare kernel of wheat, perhaps, or of some other kind. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. 43 It is sown dishonorable; it is raised glorious. It is sown weak; it is raised powerful. 44 It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one. 45 So, too, it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being,” the last Adam a life-giving spirit. 46 But the spiritual was not first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. 47 The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. 48 As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. 49 Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

R: I will walk in the presence of God, in the light of the living.

9 [10] Now I know that God is with me. 10 [11] In God, in whose promise I glory, 11 [12] in God I trust without fear; what can flesh do against me? (R) 12 [13] I am bound, O God, by vows to you; your thank offerings I will fulfill. 13 [14] For you have rescued me from death, my feet, too, from stumbling; that I may walk before God in the light of the living. (R)

A number of the parables of Jesus relates the truth that there are many ways of responding to the Gospel. There are also many temptations that, if we succumb to them, will distract us from becoming disciples of Jesus. It is therefore essential that we fix our eyes on the prize of eternal life.

Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart and yield a harvest through perseverance.

4 When a large crowd gathered, with people from one town after another journeying to Jesus, he spoke in a parable. 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled, and the birds of the sky ate it up. 6 Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew, it withered for lack of moisture. 7 Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew, it produced fruit a hundredfold.” After saying this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” 9 Then his disciples asked him what the meaning of this parable might be. 10 He answered, “Knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been granted to you; but to the rest, they are made known through parables so that ‘they may look but not see, and hear but not understand.’ 11 This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. 12 Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. 13 Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation. 14 As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. 15 But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance.”

think:  We should fix our eyes on the prize of eternal life.

READ THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR Psalm 126-130

GOOD SOIL

Have you ever noticed a farmer sowing seeds in the fields? I often think to myself how does anything grow when they liberally throw the seed onto the ground. Jesus is using the parable of the sower to explain to His followers the importance of the soil being fertile to receive His word and bear fruit. In His parable cum homily, Jesus explains His teaching. He is the greatest homilist that has ever lived!

       A text like this one is good for our examen of conscience. The question we must ask ourselves is, “What type of soil am I? Is the soil of my heart rocky, thorny or rich? Do I receive the Word as the ground receives the seed, or does it fall by the roadside?”

       A spiritual director once said to me that our lives are like the earth, ready to receive water from the rain and everything that falls upon it. The earth does not complain or reject but simply receives what is given to it — rain, sun, frost, moisture.

       The Korean martyrs whom the Church honors today — St. Andrew Kim and his companions — were men of rich soil. They received the Word of the Lord and carried it through right unto their death. Even at life’s end, they were called to renounce their faith. But since their lives were founded on the Word of God, they committed themselves fully to its consequences that spring from truth, faith and love for the Lord.

       Knowing ourselves, at times our hearts can be rich soil, at other times rocky, at other times thorny, producing no fruit because we are so concerned inwardly with our problems and trials. We must pray to God for strength of heart and commitment to His Word at all times and through all seasons. The Word of God endures forever, not just when we feel like it. All of us are called to practice the Word of God — the teachings of Jesus, the values of the Gospel, and the Word that is Spirit and Life. Fr. Brian Steele, MGL

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Reading the parable of Jesus, where is your heart? What kind of soil do you identify with?

Lord, let me live according to Your Word. I trust and praise Your Word of life. Amen.