Day 7 (Mar 4)
– The Lavish Sower

Day 7 (Mar 4)
The Lavish Sower

Do you truly believe God loves you?

English audio reflection is coming soon.

“God’s love for his people is so great that it turns God against himself, his love against his justice.”

- Pope Benedict XVI (Deus Caritas Est, 10)

In the Parable of the Sower, we know that the sower is God himself. We often focus on the conditions of the four kinds of soil and neglect the essence of the parable.

Bishop Barron wrote: “In the Palestine of Jesus’ time, seed was, like water, a precious commodity. In the unforgiving soil and harsh climate, one was very careful with seed. Indeed, one’s life could very much depend on how the precious seed was sown. And what does this farmer in Jesus’ parable do? Well, he sows wildly, liberally, and seemingly without care as to where the seed lands. He sows on the rocks, in the thorny ground, on the path- and in good soil.

Ordinary people take great care in handling precious resources to avoid loss. But God is totally not concerned about potential loss. The fact that the seeds can fall on the worst terrain does not bother him at all. He loves both the righteous and the sinners. No matter how much we look down on – or even despise – ourselves, he still loves us.

Jesus died on the cross both for St. Mother Teresa and Adolf Hitler; for saints, and for sinners like you and me.

REFLECTION:

Do I see God as a judge, or do I see him as a merciful father? Do I consider myself too unworthy to receive his love?

TODAY' PRAYER

Lord, soften my heart to experience your love in such a profound way so that I truly believe nothing can stop you from loving me!
As my response to your invitation, Lord, I desire to spend some time meditating on the Parable of the Lost Sheep. I will put myself in the place of the lost sheep, which you deem worthy enough for leaving behind the ninety-nine to find.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Luke 15:4-7

What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.