Daily Mass Reflections - 7/27
“Though we cannot see the heart, we can see the life.” ~ David Paul Kirkpatrick
Parables once again rule the day in today’s Gospel (Matthew 13:18-23) where we find Jesus explaining in detail the importance of a faith nourished and cultivated in fertile soil as opposed to the unenlightened, weak-kneed or fair-weathered byproduct of a faith built upon the arid, rocky or thorny terrain that so often otherwise prevails.
The fruits of a rich faith fostered in this all important fertile soil has the potential to take deep roots if we step back and allow it to. Jesus goes on to point out in the waning words of this passage that we must “hear the word AND understand it”. The gift of understanding is the 2nd of the 7 Gifts of the Holy Spirit, and furthermore, by asking for and receiving the gift of understanding (..and if you ask for it you will receive it. “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find...” etc) , it opens the door to the 9 attributes associated with the “Fruit of the Holy Spirit”.
The 9 Fruits of the Holy Spirit are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Who wouldn’t want more of those things in their lives?
It is through the Holy Mass, the Sacraments, Bible Study Groups, works of charity, Eucharistic Adoration, and the Rosary (just to name a few) that we can insure that our fertile soil remains tilled and we grow to experience both the gifts and fruits of the Holy Spirit, for as we learned yesterday “To those who have much, much more will be given them.” Strive for more in all of your spiritual endeavors so that you too can bear much fruit in the Lord’s Vineyard.