A Homily for Sexagesima Sunday

+ As the Holy Father’s health deteriorates in what appears to be his final illness we must pray for him with a profound fervour that he might die a good and holy death.

Weeds and thorns are a curse set upon man due to original sin. Uprooting them is a constant struggle allowing us to only eat by the sweat of our brow (Gn 3:19). It is no surprise then that some of the seed, which is sown, lands among thorns, yet even when it doesn’t the farmer must take care that briars do not start to grow. Likewise, as the crop develops it will need to develop ever deeper roots, which are still liable to encounter rocks which cause the plant to whither before harvest time, losing all the good that it had started to develop.

Without changing the interpretation given to the parable by Our Lord, we can nonetheless interiorise it as an account of our personal life. He sows the seed of His Word and expects us to cooperate with those seeds, that grace, to bring forth the good fruits which He wishes us to accomplish in our life’s work. It is the development of that fruit, under God, which must demand our attention. Yet a part of that is also seeing that the plants have the right conditions in which to grow and bear fruit.

God, through His Word, will often inspire men to accomplish many things that are right and just. Often, however, the moment in which it can be accomplished is brief. By allowing a delay to occur before following up on the inspiration, we allow the devil to come and snatch it away so that it cannot be accomplished. The ancient enemy will not, moreover, be content to leave the plant that is starting to push up: he still sends the slugs and snails of doubts and fears to try and eat the plant before it can develop to maturity. Protecting the plant from such fears, doubts and anxieties is necessary for the fruit to be given a chance to develop. Such is best accomplished by a sincere trust in God.

By simply rushing into the work, however, there has been no chance for the roots to develop and sustain the work through the struggles that will necessarily come to bear against it. Whilst any delay in starting the work cannot be suffered, a due preparation is still necessary to assure that everything is ready to start the work itself. The central root is, moreover, humility. The greater the plant the more the foundational root of humility is needed to assure that sufficient water is reachable below the soil, and that the growth does not dry up and be left incomplete.

Roots that develop for a plant to start growth, however, are not enough to sustain it all the way through its gowth up to the bearing of fruit. The continual development of these invisible foundations is necessary in order to bring it through to completion. Difficulties and obstacles are going to be that much stronger and harder to overcome with a plant bearing bigger fruit. Thus, it is he who perseveres unto the end who shall be saved.

Thorns provided by worldly pleasures and distractions will never cease to spring up. But these not necessarily be constrained to riches and power, but anything that develops a dominance over our mind such that we cannot focus on the good things before us as necessary to accomplish – such an obsession can even be directed towards something that is itself good or even minor if it is kept under control and discipline. We must be careful, however, not to assert that this undue attachment is something which is dragging us away from the nobility of purpose for which God intends us to work on and is not something which is in truth an aid to that task. It is only the thorns and briars that need uprooting not the fruit-bearing plants.

On the day of judgement, we shall be called upon to give an account of all our works throughout our life. It is only at the hour of our death that we can give an account of everything, for our death shall be the consummation of our entire life. God shall look over the field and count all of the fruit it has produced. How much of it has not allowed the seed to take root in the ground; how much has been plucked away by the birds? How much of the seed has just wilted away? How much of the seed has been strangled by thorns?

Never is it too late to return to God, to pull up the weeds and break the rocks so that springtime can once again show forth in our works.

Proclaiming this parable just before we begin the great Lenten fast, the Church reminds us that what is important is bringing forth the fruits of charity, worked under the inspiration of God and through His grace. Lent is given to us to break through these obstacles and restore us to that God-given vigour in producing good fruit. The foundations rooting us in Christ and protecting our efforts from the distractions of the enemy must be constantly be renewed. +
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