Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_A - The Master Gardener_071623

Deacon Tom Writes,

“The Master Gardener….”

 

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

There are many passages in scripture that compare a seed to the Kingdom of God. Many people still live in agricultural communities where they toil daily to prepare and work the soil, plant the seeds, do the weeding, the cultivating, and the harvesting. Jesus uses seeds as a metaphor in today’s gospel, pointing out what makes all this work worth while: seeds are prolific. One seed can produce an unbelievable abundance, but only if it is rooted in fertile soil.

The same can be said about our faith. Faith is like a seed that must find fertile soil within us if it is to take root and grow and be productive according to the law of nature. We have been given the gift of life by the Master Gardener. He has sowed us into the world where we are to bear much fruit. We all must overcome difficulties and hardships just like seeds must overcome the challenges they face - poor soil, droughts, and infestations and lack of nutrition. Sometimes we feel like we are being trampled down just like the seed that fell on the path. Or, we just need some time to ourselves to rest and recover from the stresses we carry, but our roots don’t go deep enough to get adequate nourishment, like the seed that fell on rocky ground, and we too wither away.

Today’s parable carries with it an invitation to pause for a moment and ask ourselves if our lives give us the harvest of joy and happiness that God intends for each of us to have here in this life that God intends us to “live to the fullest.”

Every time I see a beautiful garden, I can’t help but think of the time and energy and love that went into it. A beautiful garden doesn’t happen by itself. The same goes for our lives. We can’t come to the fullness God intends for us without the Master Gardener nourishing us, shaping our desires, pruning our bad behaviors, nourishing us with all that we need to thrive. Only in God’s hands can we blossom and come into the fullness of life that the Almighty intends for us. We, for our part, must be receptive to the care the Master Gardener gives us. If we cooperate, we too will reap thirty, sixty, one hundred-fold the joy and happiness that has been planned for us.

Enjoy the Day!
Deacon Tom

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacs engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those thinking of coming into or leaving it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: Yes, And... by Fr Richard Rohr, OFM contains meditations and prayers for every day of the year, Yes, And… supports the reader on their journey with their Christian faith. It offers a refreshing and open-minded approach to living out your faith. World-renowned spiritual teacher Richard Rohr offers an extensive collection of his thoughts and teachings for the reader to apply to their daily life. This guide supports those on their journey to find spiritual relevance in an open-minded way through excerpts from his many written and recorded works. 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: #28 Christianity and Unknowing: Richard Rohr reflects on the beauty, complexity, pain, and great mystery that weave the infinite cycles of existence. He looks at ultimate truths, binary thinking, and individual awakening while acknowledging humanity as a mere part of the intricate web of life.

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time_C - Habitual Excellance_0710022

Image Credit – Lee Porter: The Good Samaritan 1, 1993

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Habitual Excellence!”

 

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Today’s gospel tells the story of the Good Samaritan in which Jesus gives us a graphic example on how we must act to fulfill the greatest of the commandments. The Samaritan is a virtuous man; he acts with compassion, gentleness, generosity, humility, self-sacrifice, self-discipline, justice, courage, respect, and patience. His actions are unlike those of the priest and the Levite who ignore the victim on the side of the road and go on their merry way.

Why do we do the things that we do? The simple answer is that we get in the habit behaving in a certain way. Habits are our way of responding to certain situations. I suspect helping others came naturally to the Samaritan. He had, as we say, a habit of lending a helping hand. We acquire habits through our repeated action. We start out behaving a certain way and, as we repeat those same actions, they become habits. Habits can be for the good or, as we perhaps know too well, for the bad. Throughout our childhood, hopefully, we are taught to act with kindness so we can develop the habit of being kind. The same goes for being polite, courteous, friendly, and compassionate, etc. As we grow to maturity, again hopefully, we have acquired greater capacity to act more virtuously. Our life’s activities reflect the qualities of our interior moral life – we are either acting according to the good virtues we have stored up or the vices that oppose them.

The Greek word for virtue means “habitual excellence” which suggests that virtues need to be practiced constantly. St. Thomas Aquinas, the foremost proponent of an ethics of virtue, said that through repetition virtues bring about a “modification of a subject.” In other words, practicing virtue makes us virtuous.

The power of the virtues is that through their possession and exercise we reach the intended purpose of our lives which happens to be the very question the scholar of the law asks Jesus today, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

To help us in our efforts to inherit eternal life, the Fathers of the Church have handed down some very good tools to help guide us. We have three “Theological” Virtues – Faith, Hope, and Charity and four “Cardinal” Virtues of Prudence, Fortitude, Justice, and Temperance.

There is much suffering in our world today that cries out for an increase in the practice of these virtues by people of all faiths. May the story of the good Samaritan motivate us to live more virtuous lives so we can be Good Samaritans to our brothers and sisters who suffer as they wait for help to arrive.

Enjoy the Day!
Deacon Tom

Visit my blog at: www.deacontomwrites.blogspot.com

And tune into the www.deaconspod.com to hear a contemporary Catholic conversation exploring the treasures our faith has to offer

Recommended Reading: Faith for the Heart by Thomas H. Groom who invites us to enter more deeply into the rich treasury of the spiritual resources of the Church's faith, practice, and tradition

Recommended Podcast: In the Company of Charity discussions about the Catholic Church, society and service to others by the Daughters of Charity.

Fifteenth Sunday In Ordinary Time_C -Habitual Excellence!_071419

Deacon Tom Writes,

“Habitual Excellence!”

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C

Today’s gospel tells the story of the Good Samaritan in which Jesus gives us a graphic example on how we must act to fulfill the greatest of the commandments. The Samaritan is a virtuous man; he acts with compassion, gentleness, generosity, humility, self-sacrifice, self-discipline, justice, courage, respect, and patience. His actions are unlike those of the priest and the Levite who ignore the victim on the side of the road and go on their merry way. 

Why do we do the things that we do? The simple answer is that we get in the habit behaving in a certain way. Habits are our way of responding to certain situations. I suspect helping others came naturally to the Samaritan. He had, as we say, a habit of lending a helping hand. We acquire habits through our repeated action. We start out behaving a certain way and, as we repeat those same actions, they become habits. Habits can be for the good or for the bad. Throughout our childhood, hopefully, we are taught to act with kindness so we can develop the habit of being kind. The same goes for being polite, courteous, friendly, and compassionate, etc. As we grow to maturity, again hopefully, we have acquired greater capacity to act more virtuously. Our life’s activities reflect the qualities of our interior moral life – we are either acting according to the good virtues we have stored up or the vices that oppose them.

The Greek word for virtue means “habitual excellence” which suggests that virtues need to be practiced constantly. St. Thomas Aquinas, the foremost proponent of an ethics of virtue, said that through repetition virtues bring about a “modification of a subject”. In other words, practicing virtue makes us virtuous.

The power of the virtues is that through their possession and exercise we reach the intended purpose of our lives which happens to be the very question the scholar of the law asks Jesus today, “Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

To help us in our efforts to inherit eternal life, the Fathers of the Church have handed down some very good tools to help guide us. We have three “Theological” Virtues – Faith, Hope, and Charity and four “Cardinal” Virtues of Prudence, Fortitude, Justice, and Temperance. 

There is much suffering in our world today that cries out for an increase in the practice of these virtues by people of all faiths. May the story of the good Samaritan motivate us to live more virtuous lives so we can be more faithful to our Christian heritage and help ease the suffering of our sisters and brothers in Christ.

Enjoy the Day!

Deacon Tom

Image Credit – Lee Porter: The Good Samaritan 1, 1993