A person can go on a walk and hear the beautiful sound of a bird and think to themselves, that is a very nice sound, enjoy it, and keep walking on. Another person may hear the bird song, actually stop, and listen for a time and then move on. Still, another person may not only hear the sound, stop, and listen, but also look in the tree to see what type of bird is making that sound, identify it as a cardinal and then walk on.

Each person experienced the bird on different levels. Even the one who stopped to appreciate its song and take the time to identify it as a cardinal, still limited himself from experiencing the deeper wonder and uniqueness of this particular cardinal. God knows though. He knows this bird intimately, as he does with the entirety of his creation, including knowing each of us better than we know ourselves.

We may hear or read Jesus begin with these words of his parable: “A sower went out to sow his seed” (Luke 8:5). Our minds may go immediately to say to ourselves, “Oh, I know this parable well,” identify it like the person identifying the cardinal, and may even appreciate the parable, but then tune out because we have heard it before or many times before. We too would then miss the greater depth and wonder of what God wants to share with us.

Jesus helps his disciples to understand the parable when he tells them, “The seed is the word of God,” and then identifies how different people hear, and then act or don’t act on the word they have received. Those on the path of hard, traveled ground, the word is stolen by the devil; those representing rocky ground which has some soil “receive the word with joy” but since there is no depth in which to root, “they believe for only a time and fall away”; and the seed that fell among thorns was choked by the anxieties, riches, and pleasures of life. The final resting place was the best, the “rich soil” symbolizing “those who embrace the word with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance” (See Luke 8:4-15).

God knows each of us, knows our deepest and authentic desires, our deepest wounds, our sins, and our greatest promise. He loves us, wants the best for us, and so shares his seed, his word, with us in many ways.

Are we willing to open our hearts and minds to receiving the wonder of Jesus’ guiding and leading, are we willing to be patient to not only receive and savor his word, but also put it into practice? Are we willing to place his word in a place of prominence within our minds and hearts so that the many diversions, anxieties, stresses, and strains don’t choke its life? Are we willing to be persistent and daily call to mind this gift God has given to us each day and allow it to flourish and grow in our lives?

More than anything else, the most important practice that we can engage in each day is prayer. Not just saying prayerful words and moving on, but receiving God’s word as he wants to give it and allow it to germinate in our hearts and minds so we may be transformed. The enemy will seek to distract, divert, and dissuade us from this gift of spending time with God to meditate, pray, and rest with him.

We need to resist these temptations, renounce them, pull them out as we would weeds and repeat the word or phrase we have received from the Bible or meditate upon a simple phrase like,  “Jesus, I Trust in You”. Give this phrase all the room it needs to breathe and grow so that we may experience the greater depth and wonder from it that God wants to share. Each day we can gain something new.

Jesus invites us in the parable of the sower to hear his word, then we can receive, rest, and abide in it. God’s word is to be our foundation such that all that we think, speak, and do is directed from God’s guidance and standard. Even when tempted, while undergoing trials and tribulations, we will not be led astray, we will not doubt or be choked, when we anchor our trust in Jesus and his love for us. We will persevere through challenging times, as well as be grateful in tranquil times.

More than just words, our prayers are to be directed to a person, Jesus, his Father and/or the Holy Spirit. Doing so will help us to remain connected to the source of our lives. We will not only trust Jesus more, but we will also know him more intimately, and continue to be transformed by his love so that we too will bear abundant fruit from the seed God has planted in us.

Photo: Leaves beginning to change here in CT. Enjoying and pondering on an afternoon walk.

Link for the Mass readings for Saturday, September 20, 2025