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Message of the Day
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“Free will is the ruler of the soul. It is free by nature and still more free by grace. It shall be crowned with a crown that is called charity.”
- John of Rusybroeck, Adornment of the Spiritual Marriage, ch. 24
(The most truly human exercise of freedom is to choose love. Let this be your disposition today.)
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Readings of the Day
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Jer 1:1, 4-10; Ps 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5-6ab, 15 and 17
Mt 13:1-9
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to
hear.”
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“A farmer went out sowing.” —Matthew 13:4
We tend to think of a farmer sowing and planting for one growing season, usually lasting a few months. That
was the case for Jesus’ audience as well. The timeframe most people had in mind was one crop-cycle, a few months.
God, the Farmer and Vinegrower (Jn 15:1), plants seeds in every soul. God’s “growing season” in a soul may be seventy or eighty years (see Ps 90:10). He plans for a fruitful harvest from the crop-cycle of each soul, thirty or sixty or a hundredfold over the course of each person’s life (Mk 4:8). Parents are accustomed to this type of timing. A parent fertilizes the soil of a child’s heart with years of nurturing, feeding, discipling, schooling, disciplining, etc. The parent doesn’t expect the child to be ready for college at age eight. However, the first six or so years of a child’s life are absolutely critical. Many seeds need to be sown early in a child’s life. “You need patience to do God’s will” (Heb
10:36). It requires lasting faith and patient obedience to continually plant seeds without seeing results. Like the farmer, we must go out to sow season after season, whether or not there are any results to be seen. We might be sowing so that others can reap the harvest (see 1 Cor 3:6ff). “Let us not grow weary of doing good” and planting all the seeds God gives us; “if we do not relax our efforts, in due time we shall reap our harvest” (Gal 6:9). Prayer: Father, give me the grace to sow and plant well for Your Kingdom, even if I will not be alive to see the harvest from the seeds I plant (see 1 Cor 3:6-8). Promise: “Have no fear before them, because I am with you to deliver you, says the Lord.” —Jer 1:8 Presentation Ministries
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Spiritual Reading
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Readings from Jesus Alive in Our Lives, by Philip St. Romain. Ave Maria Press, 1985. Contemplative Ministries, Inc. 2011. Part Three, Gift of the Spirit Chapter 6: The Gift of Tongues
(Glossalalia) - Selected quotes
Another major point made in the Book of James and other places is that control of the tongue is a way of controlling one’s entire being (James 3:1-5). Turning over the control of one’s tongue to the direction of the Spirit is a powerful way to surrender one’s life to God. Sometimes
when I don’t know how to pray, I just direct my mind and heart to God in praise and the gift of tongues becomes available, moving me to pray in the way I need at that time. I find Scriptural affirmation of this in Rm. 8:26-27, where Paul notes that there are times when the Spirit prays for us “with groanings which cannot be expressed in speech.” It is most reassuring to know that we have been given such a magnificent Helper, ever close at hand, to even direct our prayer when we do
not know how to pray.
As with all other gifts, the more one uses this one, the stronger it grows. I’ve spoken through the years with many people who once had the gift while they were in a charismatic prayer group, but left it behind as they stopped attending prayer meetings. One need not be a practicing member of a pentecostal prayer group to receive this gift (although a Life in the Spirit Seminar in a charismatic group can
serve as an excellent introduction to it). Because the prayer language is for the spiritual growth of the individual, I believe this particular manifestation of glossalalia is available to all Christians. The other manifestations of glossalalia, as with the other charismatic gifts, may be available to only a few and then at only certain times and in special circumstances.
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