24th Week in Ordinary Time
Januarius

1st Reading: 1 Tim 6:13–16
Gospel: Lk 8:4–15
As a great crowd gathered and people came to him from every town, Jesus began teaching them through stories, or parables, “The sower went out to sow the seed. And as he sowed, some of the grain fell along the way, was trodden on and the birds of the sky ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and no sooner had it come up than it withered, because it had no water. Some fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with the seed and choked it. But some fell on good soil and grew, producing fruit—a hundred times as much.” And Jesus cried out, “Listen then, if you have ears to hear!”
The disciples asked him, “What does this story mean?” And Jesus answered, “You have been granted to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to others it is given in the form of stories, or parables, so that seeing they may not perceive and hearing they may not understand.”
Now, this is the point of the parable:
The seed is the word of God. Those along the wayside are people who hear it, but immediately the devil comes and takes the word from their minds, for he doesn’t want them to believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are people who receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe for a while and give way in time of trial. Among the thorns are people who hear the word but as they go their way, are choked by worries, riches, and the pleasures of life; they bring no fruit to maturity. The good soil, instead, are people who receive the word and keep it in a gentle and generous mind, and persevering patiently, they bear fruit.

Commentary
In order that we be found pure and blameless in God’s sight, let us pause and be still a little while, and see how far we can rise above the world, when we release our mind from its chains. It will be grateful to be free a while. With its wings free, it will fly in sureness and joy to join its holy purpose. Let it rest in God, there to be restored to sanity, to freedom, and to love.
Let us give our minds ten minutes rest, each and every day. And when our eyes are opened afterwards, we won’t value anything we see as much as when we looked at it before. Our whole perspective on the world shifts, just a little, every time we let our mind escape its chains. We belong where our mind goes to rest, when we release it from the world. Let nothing which relates to our body delay our progress to salvation, nor permit temptation to hold us back from believing that the world has nothing to hold us back. Nothing here is worth one instant of delay or pain; one moment of uncertainty or doubt.

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