1ST WEEK OF LENT

Giving seed to the one who sows . . . 

John didn’t grow up in a religious household. But he was drawn to the Catholic faith during his college years and began attending Mass. He went through RCIA and married a committed Catholic woman, and together they raised four children. The whole family was faithful to attending Mass; not even snowstorms kept them away!

A successful businessman, John was able to retire young. He then started his own business as a handyman. Even today, he still charges his clients far less than the going rate because he views his work as a mission to help people, many of whom haven’t been as fortunate. “God has blessed me,” he likes to say, “and I think it’s right that I share those blessings.”

Where did that generosity come from? Quite possibly from something that happened every Sunday as John sat in church: God was sending out his word, as today’s first reading says, and watering his faith. The words he heard in the readings each week settled deep in his heart and made him more and more “fertile and fruitful” in imitating Christ’s love (Isaiah 55:10).

Every Sunday, God is sowing the seed of his word into the hearts of countless men and women like John. We may not always see it, but God’s words are bearing fruit. One may look like a single wildflower, but imagine the beauty God sees as he looks at all the people whose faithfulness only he knows! So it is with the good works that spring from each of us as we hear God’s word. Those actions might not seem like much to us, but God takes a different view.

If you are reading this, know that God is planting the seed of his word in you. He promises that this seed “shall not return to me void” (Isaiah 55:11). It will bear fruit. Even if you can’t see it right now, you can trust that it will happen. It may need some time. It may need a little extra watering as well. But the seed is there, waiting for just the right time and just the right conditions. Just keep listening to the Lord and trying to respond to what you hear!

“Father, help me to trust in the power of your word to change the world, one believer at a time.”

Isaiah 55:10-11
Psalm 34:4-7, 16-19
Matthew 6:7-15