Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Is 55:10-11; Rom 8:18-23; Mt 13:1-23

07-10-2026Weekly ReflectionThe Faithful Disciple

Grow as a Disciple: Pray, Study, Engage, Serve

If you’re anything like me, you probably hear today’s Gospel and immediately try to identify yourself with one type of seed Jesus talks about: the seed that fell on the path, the seed that fell on rocky ground, the seed among thorns, or the seed in good soil. But have you ever stopped to wonder why the sower is throwing seeds so haphazardly? This is worth meditating on, too.

I believe it says to us that God is generously offering his grace and his mercy to everyone equally, in all places, at all times. But we aren’t all in a place where we are open to receive that gift. In those moments when we feel as though we’re not bearing the fruit that we hope to, perhaps it’s time to examine our spiritual surroundings and see if there is something we can change that might help us to be more receptive to God’s grace. Perhaps it’s as simple as checking out a faith-sharing group that can help us tend our spiritual soil so it is ready to receive what God is doling out.

Go Evangelize: Prayer, Invitation, Witness, Accompaniment

Our first reading from Isaiah speaks of the power and efficacy of God’s word, comparing it to the rain and snow that come down and water the earth, making the soil fertile, helping the seed to grow into a bountiful harvest that can be made into bread that nourishes. What we grasp from all of this is that God’s word bears fruit over time. As evangelizers, it’s important to consider that we often won’t see fruit right away when sharing God’s word with others. That word must take root, grow, and be cultivated. This process will take time, but the long-term fruit is worth our sustained and patient effort as we nurture relationships of accompaniment with others.

Pray

There’s a certain patience we must exercise when sharing God’s word with others. When I find myself struggling with impatience – with myself or with others’ slow progress – I often find solace in the prayer “Trust in the Slow Work of God” from Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, SJ, particularly these lines: Above all, trust in the slow work of God / We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay / We should like to skip the intermediate stages / And yet it is the law of all progress that it is made by passing through some stages of instability – and that it may take a very long time.