15th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A

"Part of it, finally, landed on good soil and yielded grain..."

Lectionary Readings for 15th Sunday Ordinary Time, Year A
http://catholic.pcentral-online.net/lectionary/15th-sunday-a.html

In our gospel passage for today, we hear Jesus telling about the parable of the sower who sowed seed in four different types of ground. The first three grounds had certain characteristics associated with them that they never were able to bear fruit and yield a harvest. However, the fourth ground was of good soil and thus when the sower sowed the seed, it yielded grain of more than a hundredfold.

The gospel calls us to be like the fourth type of ground - the good soil - that when the Word of God falls into our minds and hearts, it will bear fruit in the Spirit and lead to actions of service and generosity. But it is not always like that. Most often than not, we sometimes are like the first three kinds of soil - and are unable to bear and yield a harvest. What are the things that we should do in order that we may be formed by the Lord to be the good soil that He wants us to be? I believe the answer is simple. We must have faith in His word and apply that faith in our actions towards our brothers and sisters. And faith is a gift we can receive through prayer and a very regular sacramental life. If we have faith in ourselves alone or in others alone, it could lead to a pride that may be well dangerous - as pride is a cardinal sin. But if we never forget to pray, be on our knees, and entreat the Lord who is the source of all life and the power to make us, His good soil, to yield a fruitful harvest, then we are certain that we will always be led in the right direction. Immersing ourselves constantly in prayer and in the liturgical celebrations of the Church will form us to be the good soil that we are really being called to be.