Producing Rich Soil is Hard Work

By Fr. Christopher Foeckler, MJ • St. Josaphat Formation Center, Phoenix, AZ

In the parable of the Sower, Our Lord makes it clear that He is the sower and the seed sown is the Word of God. It is the four types of soil we are to learn a lesson from, and the first thing we should understand is that the soil is our very own immortal soul – created unique and immortal at the moment of our conception and which we must cultivate to receive the Word of God and bear good fruit for eternal life. The second thing to understand is that none of the four kinds of soil described is as it is by chance. For the most part, each kind of soil from hard to rich, rocky or thorny is the way it is by hard work or by our neglect – a choice we each make and are ultimately responsible for.

The soil of the footpath is the result of many walking over it and hardening it so that the seed cannot penetrate and is carried away. There certainly are many people whose lives have been so oppressed that they cannot hear God speaking to them; but there are others, especially in our western culture, that have allowed others to walk over them and been completely controlled by the secularized media, for example, and are thus deaf to God by their own devices.

Soil that has rocks only allows the seed to grow shallow roots because it cannot be plowed or cultivated. One meaning of the stone in the ground is ignorance! Overcoming ignorance is hard work and one that the Lord and his Church work hard to remove by teaching on every level. The Catholic who is ignorant of the beauty and depth of the Faith is the more likely to fall away easily when troubles come, while those who do daily spiritual reading and have some formation in virtue—at least from home—can weather most difficulties.

As anyone who has a flower garden knows, you have to stay ahead of the weeds or the plants will be stymied. The weeds that choke the seed of the parable are obviously sins and vices that enter the soul through sinning. These need to be rooted out with examination of conscience, repentance, retreats and especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The formation in all these to overcome sin in our lives is to be started young while the soul is still innocent and vice free. But even for those whose vices seem daunting, the same fundamental remedies will work when used frequently and sincerely with great trust in the Lord of Loving Mercy!

Removing stones and weeds from our soul is the work of a life-time. While the young must be helped, each person has to cultivate their soul so the life of grace sown in Baptism can flourish and produce a harvest. A fruitful soul can only come with careful cultivation and nourishment of Faith and Virtue by study, exercise of virtue and the indispensable help of the Sacraments. The better care we put, the better the harvest of thirty, sixty or a hundred fold.