“But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold” (Mt 13:23).
Dear Marian Helpers and Members of our Marian Family,
I recently discovered a quote that I really like. It’s from a book called The Art of Worldly Wisdom, a collection of aphorisms and pithy sayings on how to grow in virtue by the 17th-century Jesuit, Fr. Baltasar Gracián. The quote is: “The more comfort, the less glory.”
A short saying, to be sure, but a powerful and true one.
The Gospel for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time reminds us that fruitful soil does not simply appear. Before the seed can bear fruit, the ground must first be prepared. Any farmer will tell you that this takes time, effort, patience, and perseverance. The same is true of the spiritual life.
Being a Christian is hard work. Praying, forgiving, striving for virtue, learning when to speak or act and when not to…it all takes time, effort, patience, and perseverance. Sometimes I think we’re tempted to “take a day off” every now and then and do what we want for a change.
But that’s not how it works. Just as farmers spend months tilling the soil, aerating the ground, spreading fertiliser, and pulling out weeds, so we too must prepare the soil of our hearts if we want the Word of God to take root in our lives.
There’s very little comfort, in an earthly sense, in being a Christian. All the work and labour can be exhausting, especially if we find ourselves in a dry spell or a spiritual rut. But just as a farmer willingly exhausts himself in the hope of a fruitful harvest, so too must we do our best (always prompted and assisted by God’s grace), if we wish to reap spiritual bounties. We do this through prayer, reading Sacred Scripture and good Catholic books, the regular reception of the Sacraments (especially Confession and the Eucharist), and by practising virtue while also trying to avoid vice.
It’s not going to be easy. But where there is much comfort, there is little glory, as Fr. Gracián reminds us. Instead, we should remember the words of St. Paul: “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us” (Rom 8:18).
Our toil is not just for ourselves either. It is for our children and grandchildren, our communities and our countries. The witness of a faithful Christian life has the power to bear fruit far beyond what we may ever see. Those are all things worth suffering for.
In the meantime, we take comfort in the promises of God, in our times of prayer and in speaking with Him. We also turn to one another, praying for one another and supporting one another as brothers and sisters in the Lord.
May God bless you now and always!
Fr Alex Pumphrey, MIC
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Contact Father Alex at info@divinemercy.org.uk
Please send us your prayer intentions! (click here). We will place them at the foot of our altar in the Divine Mercy Apostolate’s Chapel here in West Ealing, London and will remember them in our daily Chaplets of Divine Mercy.
