José Ricardo Bezerra and Felipe Bezerra
On this Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A), we enter chapter 13 of the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus’ great discourse in parables. Today’s longer Gospel passage (Matthew 13:1-23) presents the Parable of the Sower together with its explanation. “A sower went out to sow” (Matthew 13:3). Who is the sower? Who are the different kinds of soil? Let us reflect on these questions by drawing a connection between the three kinds of soil that failed to bear fruit, the three cardinal virtues, and the teaching of Saint Teresa of Jesus (Teresa of Ávila) on prayer, so that we may become wiser than the Evil One, who seeks to steal the Lord’s good seed from us (cf. Luke 16:8).
As always, we have selected five points for your meditation and prayer, which we also share in our podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5PApDAS6ww (with subtitles available in your language).
1. Jesus Goes Out: Preparing for Prayer
The first point lies in the opening verbs of the Gospel. Jesus “went out of the house and sat beside the sea” (Matthew 13:1). Then, “He got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore” (Matthew 13:2).
Jesus’ “going out” recalls the Father’s sending of His Son. Jesus is the One sent by the Father (cf. John 3:17). He went forth from the bosom of the Trinity and came to us.
His sitting down reflects the posture of a teacher. In the ancient synagogues, teachers sat in what was known as Moses’ seat. Jesus enters the boat, a symbol of the Church. He comes to meet us and also enters our own homes. He could have taught from Peter’s house, yet He chose to go out and sit in the boat so that more people could hear Him. Along the shores of the Sea of Galilee, the land slopes naturally like an amphitheater, allowing everyone on the beach to both see and hear the one speaking from the boat.
These actions of Jesus teach us the importance of withdrawing to a suitable place for prayer, away from the noise and distractions that surround us. Even inside our own homes, there is always something capable of pulling us away from God.
Therefore, go out. Sit down. Enter into your interior life. Enter into your heart. There you will hear the Lord and His Word.
2. Why Jesus Spoke in Parables
Parables are brief comparisons drawn from the everyday lives of the people to whom Jesus spoke. Every parable contains an unexpected element that surprises the listener, and from that surprise Jesus draws a spiritual lesson.
The Gospels contain about forty-four parables. Luke records the greatest number, thirty-one; Matthew contains twenty-two; and Mark only six. The Parable of the Sower appears in all three Synoptic Gospels.
Here we encounter a question that challenges us: why does this sower scatter seed along the path, on rocky ground, and among thorns? It almost seems wasteful.
Yet God is generous. The Lord sows in every kind of soil because the Gospel is meant to be proclaimed to everyone, not only to a select few or kept to ourselves. Never think, “That person isn’t worth it,” or, “That heart is nothing but thorns,” or, “That is rocky ground.” Jesus wants you to proclaim the Gospel everywhere.
The parables are rooted in everyday life, yet their meaning goes far beyond the words themselves. They point toward the fulfillment of God’s plan and our salvation. For this reason, the evangelist quotes the prophet Isaiah (cf. Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13:14-15).
At the end, the Lord reveals the astonishing harvest: the good soil yields “a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold” (Matthew 13:8).
Today, an excellent wheat harvest may produce up to sixtyfold, but in Jesus’ time the usual yield was only threefold to fivefold. The Lord always surpasses our expectations.
3. The Soil Along the Path: Distractions and the Virtue of Justice
The first type of soil is the seed that fell along the path, where the birds came and devoured it (cf. Matthew 13:4).
Jesus explains that this represents the Evil One, who comes and steals the seed before it can even take root in the heart (cf. Matthew 13:19).
How, then, can we become wiser than the Evil One?
“The children of this age are more shrewd than the children of light” (cf. Luke 16:8). Therefore, let us truly become children of light, so that we do not allow him to steal the Word sown in our hearts.
Here we are reminded of Saint Teresa of Jesus, who teaches that distractions during prayer rob us of the Word. When we pray distractedly, we hear without truly listening; the Word enters through one ear and leaves through the other.
Teresa speaks of five interior faculties of the soul: memory, affections, imagination, intellect, and will. Original sin wounded the whole human person, leaving our nature disordered and inclined toward evil. Therefore, each of these faculties must be healed and restored by grace through prayer (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 405).
In this first type of soil, imagination plays a particularly significant role. One clarification is important: Teresa never actually called the imagination “the madwoman in the house.” Rather, she taught that we should pay no attention to it, just as we do not engage with the ramblings of someone who is mentally disturbed. Let it chatter without giving it our attention.
Even so, Teresa herself struggled with distractions until the Seventh Mansions. This is a lifelong battle, but that does not mean we should give distractions our attention.
Fr. Saulo Dantas offers practical advice here: if you are going to pray, do not lie down. Otherwise, your mind may wander, or worse, you may fall asleep. Kneel, sit down, or take a book with you.
Saint Teresa said that for many years she was unable to pray without a book to help her recollect herself. She recommended spiritually enriching books, read slowly, perhaps only one or two paragraphs at a time, just enough to gather one’s heart before God.
The cardinal virtue associated with this type of soil is justice, which consists in giving each person what is due to them. A particular expression of justice is the virtue of religion.
Some object to this because we can never truly give God what is fully due to Him. Yet we owe Him our praise, our time, the best hour of our day, and our gratitude for the gift of life and every blessing we have received.
From this spirit of justice and religion flows the sharing of our material goods, for example through the tithe. This should not be understood as a strict calculation, but as returning to God, with gratitude and charity, a portion of what we ourselves have received from Him, always guided by love and by the concrete needs of the life of the Church.
4. The Rocky Ground: Memory and the Virtue of Fortitude
The second type of soil is the rocky ground, where the earth is shallow. The seed quickly sprouted, but because it had no roots, the sun scorched it and it withered without bearing fruit (cf. Matthew 13:5-6).
Jesus explains that this represents the person who receives the Word with joy but has no root. As soon as trials or persecution arise because of the Word, that person quickly falls away (cf. Matthew 13:20-21).
Why does this happen?
Because they do not remember.
Here we encounter the faculty of memory, which has also been wounded by the Fall. When we fail to remember God’s mighty works, gratitude disappears, and perseverance fades with it.
The Lord never promised a life without suffering. He told us that persecution and hardship would come, but He also promised to remain with us.
The cardinal virtue that strengthens us here is fortitude: the steadfastness that endures persecution and trials, the courage that the Lord gives, the gift that sustains the martyrs to the very end.
One of the clearest fruits of a healed memory is hope. When we remember the great works the Lord has done, it becomes impossible not to hope in what He will continue to do.
This is precisely what the Psalms do again and again. “Horse and rider He has thrown into the sea” (cf. Exodus 15:1). David also remembered how God had delivered him from the lion and the bear, and therefore trusted that He would also rescue him from the blaspheming Philistine.
The opposite is also true. As hope grows within the heart, it gradually heals our memory, until even our deepest wounds become reasons to praise God.
Whenever difficulties arise, Saint Teresa answers them with what she famously called her “determined determination”:
“Come what may, happen what may, let people say whatever they will, never abandon the life of prayer.”
Persevere. Do not give up.
Even if you see no visible fruits from prayer, do not stop praying. We do not pray because of the fruits; we pray because of Jesus. The fruits will come, perhaps not the ones we expected, but the ones God desires to give.
5. The Soil Among Thorns: The Illusion of Wealth and the Virtue of Temperance
The third type of soil is the one among thorns. The seed sprouted, but the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
Jesus explains that “the worries of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches: “Do not worry… your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things” (cf. Matthew 6:25-34).
Here it is our affections, also wounded by original sin, that are especially at work. Because of this woundedness, we easily become overly sensitive and reluctant to face the hardships and thorns of life.
The cardinal virtue associated with this soil is temperance.
Temperance is the inner discipline of the martyrs. It means trusting in God’s providence and in the Lord’s Word, embracing self-denial as a path toward holiness.
Wealth can provide many good things, but it can also encourage complacency and the illusion that we are entitled to everything. Today’s world offers countless examples of people who spend their entire lives pursuing riches.
Jesus’ teaching is clear:
“You cannot serve both God and money.” (Matthew 6:24)
There is nothing wrong with being successful or becoming an excellent professional in one’s field. That can be a beautiful witness. What becomes dangerous is desiring wealth for its own sake, since this may reveal a deeper disorder of the heart.
As Saint Paul says, athletes discipline themselves to receive a perishable crown, while we strive for an imperishable one (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:25).
The Word of God points in almost the opposite direction from accumulation. It calls us to give ourselves away, to serve the poor, and to give without expecting anything in return (cf. Luke 6:35).
We have not discussed prudence here, although it is the mother of the cardinal virtues and guides all the others (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1806). Nevertheless, prudence is intimately connected with each of them.
Nor have we focused on the good soil that bears “a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold” (Matthew 13:8,23), precisely because the three kinds of soil that fail to bear fruit deserve our greater attention, so that we may become wiser.
We conclude with the words of Bishop Adélio Tomazim of Quixadá, spoken during a homily at the Cathedral of Quixadá in 1999 on this very Gospel. In the dry backlands of Ceará, which turn completely green when the rains come, he said, in the distinctive Italian accent he had retained after sixty years in Brazil:
“Our hearts are good soil.”
If the Lord sows His seed in our hearts and we allow the Holy Spirit to water them, they will bear fruit.
The problem is that we often do not allow this to happen. We turn our hearts into rocky ground, allow the birds to snatch away the seed, and let the thorns choke it.
But if we allow ourselves to be guided by the Holy Spirit, our hearts will indeed bear fruit, because our hearts are good soil.
Steps of Lectio Divina
Lectio Divina is the prayerful reading of the Word of God. Set aside a time of silence, invoke the Holy Spirit, and slowly walk through these steps as you pray with this Gospel (Matthew 13:1-23).
1. Reading (Lectio)
What does the text say?
Read the Gospel slowly, more than once if possible, perhaps in a quiet voice. Pay close attention to the verbs, the different kinds of soil, and the explanation Jesus Himself gives.
2. Meditation (Meditatio)
What is the text saying to me?
Which of these kinds of soil best describes my heart today?
Where have the Evil One, distractions, lack of perseverance, or the illusion of wealth been choking God’s Word in my life?
3. Prayer (Oratio)
What do I want to say to God in response to this passage?
Lord, today we thank You for the seeds of Your Word that You continually sow in our hearts.
So often we behave like rocky ground or shallow soil, allowing the birds to carry away the seed.
But today we ask You, Jesus: water our hearts. Pour out the living water of Your Holy Spirit upon us. Renew within us the grace of our Baptism, so that, watered by Your Spirit, we may bear the fruits of holiness and new life.
Grant us, Lord, the grace to become sowers of Your Word wherever we go, and the courage to proclaim Your Gospel even to those who seem unwilling to receive the seed.
And to you, Mary, we pray: teach us to treasure the seed of God’s Word in our hearts, so that it may bear abundant fruit within us.
Amen.
4. Contemplation (Contemplatio)
What new vision is God giving me?
Remain in silence before the Lord, who generously sows His seed in every kind of soil and assures us that our hearts are good soil.
5. Action (Actio)
What is the Lord calling me to do today?
Choose one concrete step: set aside a time of prayer free from distractions, persevere through a present trial, or let go of something that will make more room for God’s Word to bear fruit.
Until next week!
Shalom!
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Shalom!
Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5PApDAS6ww
Subtitles are available in your preferred language.
