The Fruits of the Word

By Abba Jimmy (Theoloscience)

Let’s start by reading Luke 8:4–15.

And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Planting and cultivating the land is an arduous task. The good harvest of good fruits requires preparation and care scheduled over time.

If we want to reap good fruits, we can start by visualizing the fruits we want. What do we want to harvest? What fruits do I want to have and enjoy in due time?

Let’s make a list of the desired fruits in the four areas that make our lives more complete and fulfilling: Intellectual, physical, social, and spiritual.

For example, in our intellectual facet, we could wish for fruits such as: Learning to play a musical instrument, learning another language, reading “Don Quixote de la Mancha” by Don Miguel Cervantes, starting and finishing a master’s degree, a doctorate, etc.

In the physical area of ​​our life, we might want the fruit of losing a certain number of kilograms (without causing damage to our health). For example, exercising three or four times a week, sleeping seven hours a day, reducing the consumption of saturated fats and sugary drinks, etc.

In the social area, we could wish for the fruit of giving ourselves more time each week to cultivate valuable friendships, take “danzón” or “cha-cha-cha” classes, start a “book club” (or participate in one already established). , offer my help two hours a week (or more than two) in some ministry of the Church, attend social gatherings with a good disposition when I am invited, etc.

In the spiritual area, we could wish for the fruits of praying more and better. We can also visualize ourselves reading the Bible and the lives of saints for half an hour every day. Sowing peace and joy all around us is also very much needed today. Going on a retreat once a year can be very fruitful, too — for example, the spiritual exercises of Saint Ignatius of Loyola at a Jesuit center. Or a Carmelite retreat. An excellent way of cultivating the Seed is attending Sunday Mass. Reading the Bible daily and the lives of the saints is also a perfect way of cultivating the soil. The daily examination of conscience is also a magnific way of producing good spiritual fruits. Let us not forget to smile when we are in Church, complain less, and be more grateful. Etc.

In the parable of the Sower, Jesus wants us to grow up like his disciples. So if we read this parable carefully and meditate on it, we can extract from it the guidelines and the inspiration to let the Seed of the Word of the Son of God grow in us and bear the good fruits.

The parable of the Sower encourages us to prepare ourselves so that the Word of the Son falls on good ground and warns us of the dangers that prevent the Seed from bearing fruit.

Let’s end with a prayer:

Lord, here I am. I want to prepare myself to receive you and give you preference in many of my occupations. Send me the strength, the power of your Spirit so that I can cultivate the Seed of Your Word with perseverance in my life. Thank you, Lord, for coming and for calling me.