His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”
Sometimes we might wonder why there is evil in this world. However, it wasn’t God who brought sin and wickedness into His creation, but the Devil and our own pride. The temptation to believe we know better than God is one we constantly are faced with in great and small ways. Evil exists because God gave us the freedom to choose between right and wrong, but this free will is also a blessing because it also allows us to love and do good. God could have chosen to uproot evil in the human race, but that would have robbed us of our Divine Image and made us into something less than human. Without choice, we cannot love God or His children or do good works because there is no other option and love and goodness cannot be forced upon us. And so God lets evil exist, not because He wants it to, but because He doesn’t want to violate our humanity or rob us of His Divine Image.
What are the weeds in our lives? How can we uproot them and become more faithful servants? What can we do to use our free will for good?
O Lord, burn away our imperfections and sins, leaving us only with the fruits of your divine image within us.
Amen.
Showing posts with label Weeds. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weeds. Show all posts
Sunday, July 23, 2017
Tuesday, July 26, 2016
Memorial of Saints Joachim and Anne, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
"He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear."
We are all called to be good seeds in the world and bear fruit for God and His children. However, we will not be unopposed. The weeds of the wicked will seek to strangle us and keep us from being spiritually fruitful, but we must resist their persecutions and temptations. We will have no one to blame if we fall into sin and fail to produce good fruit. It is up to us to open our hearts to the Sun of Truth and allow the cleansing rains of God’s Divine Mercy to nourish us with grace.
What can we do to keep ourselves from becoming weeds? How can we grow in faith, hope, and love? What can we do to bear good fruits in our lives?
O Lord, let our righteousness shine like the sun.
Amen.
We are all called to be good seeds in the world and bear fruit for God and His children. However, we will not be unopposed. The weeds of the wicked will seek to strangle us and keep us from being spiritually fruitful, but we must resist their persecutions and temptations. We will have no one to blame if we fall into sin and fail to produce good fruit. It is up to us to open our hearts to the Sun of Truth and allow the cleansing rains of God’s Divine Mercy to nourish us with grace.
What can we do to keep ourselves from becoming weeds? How can we grow in faith, hope, and love? What can we do to bear good fruits in our lives?
O Lord, let our righteousness shine like the sun.
Amen.
Saturday, July 23, 2016
Sixteenth Saturday of Ordinary Time
"The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, 'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?' He answered, 'An enemy has done this.' His slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?' He replied, 'No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, 'First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.'"
The world is a place full of earthly wickedness and heavenly goodness. The question is which side we align ourselves with: the weeds or the wheat. We cannot be both. We cannot serve two masters. We either love the world more than God or we love God more than the world. This isn’t to say we cannot enjoy our lives, but rather if we have the choice between enjoying our lives and serving God, then we will choose God every time. This detachment from the world is necessary if we are to bear the good fruits of self-sacrifice instead of the bad fruits of selfishness. Because we grow up among the weeds, we might sometimes wonder why they seem to be thriving when we are suffering, physically, mentally, or spiritually. However, as long as we are willing to weather the bad times, we will eventually be rewarded by being lifted up to heaven and avoid the fires of Hell.
What can we do to make sure we are the wheat and not weeds of the world? How can we overcome the temptations that seek to entangle and strangle us? What good fruits are we bearing for God and His children?
O Lord, gather us into your heavenly kingdom.
Amen.
The world is a place full of earthly wickedness and heavenly goodness. The question is which side we align ourselves with: the weeds or the wheat. We cannot be both. We cannot serve two masters. We either love the world more than God or we love God more than the world. This isn’t to say we cannot enjoy our lives, but rather if we have the choice between enjoying our lives and serving God, then we will choose God every time. This detachment from the world is necessary if we are to bear the good fruits of self-sacrifice instead of the bad fruits of selfishness. Because we grow up among the weeds, we might sometimes wonder why they seem to be thriving when we are suffering, physically, mentally, or spiritually. However, as long as we are willing to weather the bad times, we will eventually be rewarded by being lifted up to heaven and avoid the fires of Hell.
What can we do to make sure we are the wheat and not weeds of the world? How can we overcome the temptations that seek to entangle and strangle us? What good fruits are we bearing for God and His children?
O Lord, gather us into your heavenly kingdom.
Amen.
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Thirtieth Tuesday of Ordinary Time
“What is the Kingdom of God like? To what can I compare it? It is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in the garden. When it was fully grown, it became a large bush and the birds of the sky dwelt in its branches.”
We all have the seeds of the Kingdom of God within us and as long as we faithfully tend to these seeds, remain hopeful, and cultivate them with love, then they will grow into trees of life. However, this is not an easy task. It requires constant vigilance on our parts as we guard against imperfection, temptation, and sin. We must also open the gates of our hearts to God so that He can nurture our virtues and prune away our vices. We cannot grow in the Kingdom of God without the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit protecting, teaching, and inspiring us.
Are we open to God tending to the seed of faith within us? Do we allow Him to cultivate the good within us, while weeding out the evil? Are we a shelter of God’s Love and Mercy for others?
O Lord, plant your Kingdom within the gardens of our souls.
Amen.
We all have the seeds of the Kingdom of God within us and as long as we faithfully tend to these seeds, remain hopeful, and cultivate them with love, then they will grow into trees of life. However, this is not an easy task. It requires constant vigilance on our parts as we guard against imperfection, temptation, and sin. We must also open the gates of our hearts to God so that He can nurture our virtues and prune away our vices. We cannot grow in the Kingdom of God without the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit protecting, teaching, and inspiring us.
Are we open to God tending to the seed of faith within us? Do we allow Him to cultivate the good within us, while weeding out the evil? Are we a shelter of God’s Love and Mercy for others?
O Lord, plant your Kingdom within the gardens of our souls.
Amen.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Seventeenth Tuesday of Ordinary Time
He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.
Jesus sows the good seed in the world. He is the one from which all good things come and if we want a share in his kingdom, then we must be willing to allow him to sow us where he needs us to be. Jesus cannot force us to land on good earth and to grow in faith, hope, and love. We must allow him to bring us to those places where we can flourish in the faith. We do this by praying and discerning God’s Will for us. Most importantly we should make our lives a daily offering to God. Along the way, we will meet the weeds of the world and be challenged, berated, and persecuted for doing what is right. However, we must stand firm in the truth so that we will be able to shine like the sun and share in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Who are the weeds in our lives? Do we show them God’s love no matter what they do to us? Are we willing to let Jesus sow us where he needs us?
O Lord, sow us where you need us most.
Amen.
Jesus sows the good seed in the world. He is the one from which all good things come and if we want a share in his kingdom, then we must be willing to allow him to sow us where he needs us to be. Jesus cannot force us to land on good earth and to grow in faith, hope, and love. We must allow him to bring us to those places where we can flourish in the faith. We do this by praying and discerning God’s Will for us. Most importantly we should make our lives a daily offering to God. Along the way, we will meet the weeds of the world and be challenged, berated, and persecuted for doing what is right. However, we must stand firm in the truth so that we will be able to shine like the sun and share in the Kingdom of Heaven.
Who are the weeds in our lives? Do we show them God’s love no matter what they do to us? Are we willing to let Jesus sow us where he needs us?
O Lord, sow us where you need us most.
Amen.
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