A Jesuit Catholic University
in Omaha, Nebraska, since 1878

[319] Heb 10:11-18 Ps 110:1,2,3,4 Mark 4:1-20

Weekly Guide for Daily Prayer The Daily Reflections

The gospel reading for today is one that we may have heard hundreds of times, yet might not have a complete understanding of the implications of Jesus’ words. Obviously, this gospel focuses on the various ways an individual can respond to the Good News immediately after receiving it, as well as the various reasons why. This gospel always calls me to question the quality of my “soil”, and upon reflecting upon this idea a little bit deeper, I noticed two things.

First and foremost, I noticed that in my situation at any given time, I can be any variety of the “bad” types of soil mentioned in the gospel today. It seems as though the major causes of what types of problems I have receiving the Word revolve around those who I surround myself with. The belief that one can be judged based off of who he or she surrounds him or herself with holds true especially in the context of spirituality. For example, if I surround myself with people who have noble ambition yet are unable to devote time each and every day to God, I eventually begin to pick up on those habits, thus resulting in my “soil” being not only rocky (as my roots deteriorate) but also full of thorns (as I am attracted to worldly ambition) and exposed to crows (as the Word is not taken care of and gets destroyed as a result). This realization makes it much easier to recognize certain “problem areas” in my life, and allows me to not only select different people who will help challenge me to become a better person, but to also be that person who challenges my friends to better themselves.

The next thing I noticed is that each of the “bad” types of soil is unable to bear fruit simply because each is unable to receive the seeds. This may seem obvious at first glance, but when we apply the meaning of this parable to our own lives it becomes a rather intriguing subject. The end result of each of the bad types of soil is that the seed is unable to take root and die as a result. While the specific means of how the word was destroyed vary between the types of soil, the commonality between them is the fact that they all failed in reception and acceptance of the seed. This challenges me to address how I allow other things to fill the place of the seed in my life. So often I find myself turning to other people or mind-numbing internet or other false means of obtaining peace in my life, which greatly diminishes my ability to receive the word.

The solution to the challenge of being without peace is to simply clear the way for the word of God to enter into my life. This can only be done after removing all of the clutter that is in the way of my ability to do so. When I have done this in the past, I have found that true peace can be obtained, but only through God.