Jul 24 – Memorial for St. Charbel Makhluf, Priest
St. Charbel was a Lebanese monk, born in a small mountain village and ordained in 1858. Devoted to the Blessed Virgin Mary, he spent the last twenty-three years of his life as a hermit. Despite temptations to wealth and comfort, St. Charbel taught the value of poverty, self-sacrifice and prayer by the way he lived his life.
Jer 3:14-17
Mt 13:18-23
“You are to hear the parable of the sower.”
To be honest, I’ve read and heard the Parable of the Sower so many times that I almost tuned out when it came up again at Mass.
Perhaps that’s the danger of familiarity. It is easy to think: I already know this passage. God is the Sower. The seed is the Word of God, and the four soils represent four different ways people respond to it. So I found myself wondering: What new insight could I possibly draw from such a familiar Gospel?
The question we are often invited to reflect on is: Which soil are you?
My answer would naturally be: I hope I am the good soil — the one who hears God’s Word, understands it, and bears fruit. But wanting to be good soil and actually living as good soil are two very different things.
What struck me this time wasn’t the explanation of the four soils. It was Jesus’ invitation at the very beginning: “You are to hear the parable of the sower.”
Before asking me to examine the soil of my heart, Jesus first asks me to listen. Not to get ahead of myself. Perhaps I had become so familiar with this Gospel that I had stopped truly hearing His Word.
And then it hit me. Not only was I not the good soil, but in this instance, I was actually the path. I had always assumed that ‘the path’ referred to people who heard God’s Word but did not understand it, allowing the evil one to snatch it away. I thought I already understood this passage. But in reality, the seed never even had the chance to enter, because I had already decided there was nothing new for me to hear.
This passage was a wake-up call from the Lord. I had begun to take His Word for granted. For weeks, I had been ‘complaining’ that whenever I read Scripture, nothing seemed to speak to me. It felt strangely flat, and I had attributed it to a period of spiritual dryness. But then it dawned on me — I hadn’t prepared the soil of my heart to receive His Word. Instead of searching for new insights every time I read Scripture, I simply needed to keep meditating on the passage and allow His Word to sink in.
Coming back to today’s Gospel, I also discovered that I could use it as part of my daily examen:
The Path: When was my heart hardened today? When did I hear God’s promptings but ignore them because I thought I knew better?
Rocky Ground: When was my faith enthusiastic but shallow? Did today’s prayer stay with me after I left church? When did I fail to trust Him when difficulties arose?
Among Thorns: What worries, ambitions, or distractions crowded God out of my day?
Good Soil: When did I respond generously to God’s Word? Where did I bear fruit today? How was I life-giving to others?
I realised that I am not just one type of soil. Depending on the hour — or even the moment — I can be any one of the four. Sometimes, I can even be all four in a single day. God has given me the freedom to choose how I respond to His Word, yet too often I choose what is easier or more convenient, rather than allowing His Word to challenge and change me. At other times, I become so distracted by the busyness of life that the seed never has the chance to take root.
So, at the end of my examen, the question is no longer, “Which soil am I?” Rather, it is: “What kind of soil am I choosing to be tomorrow?”
After all, even neglected soil can be cultivated. We can soften hardened ground, pull out the weeds, water dry earth, and begin again. Every day, God continues to scatter the seed of His Word generously.
The question is: Will I prepare the soil of my heart to receive it?
(Today’s OXYGEN by Esther Leet)
Prayer: Lord Jesus, prepare the soil of my heart to receive Your Word. When my heart is hardened, soften it. When my faith is shallow, deepen it. When I am distracted by the worries and busyness of life, draw me back to You. Help me not only to hear Your Word, but to receive it, understand it, and bear fruit through it. Amen.
Thanksgiving: Thank You, Lord, for never giving up on me — for patiently sowing the seeds of Your Word into my heart each day, even when I fail to receive them well. Thank You for remaining faithful to me, even when I have not always been faithful to You. Amen.
OXYGEN 
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