Twenty-Ninth Saturday of Ordinary Time

There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.

God gives us every chance to bear good fruit in our lives. It is up to us to choose to be fruitful. God can't force us to do what is right. He can't make us love Him or others. We have to choose that on our own. God gave us this life to use it wisely and well and yet we so often refuse to bear fruits. We avoid opportunities to do good because we are too afraid, too lazy, or to blinded by sin. Instead, we choose evil, selfishness, and a sense of entitlement. However, all these things do are wither us from the inside out. In a state of sin, our spiritual growth is stunted and in some cases completely cut off. It is only when we cultivate the ground of our souls with virtues and fertilize it with the sacraments that we can truly blossom and bear good fruits. Otherwise, we shall be cut down and cast into the fire like dead wood.

What is keeping us from bearing good fruits? How can we cultivate and fertilize our hearts? What can we do to increase our spiritual growth?

O Lord, cultivate the soil of our souls with your love, mercy, and grace.

Amen.