Anyone who has ever cared for a garden or tended a houseplant knows that there is a good deal of mystery involved. A plant may be placed in the best soil, in optimal sunlight, watered and tended most carefully…and then suddenly wither and die. Meanwhile, in defiance of every circumstance, a dandelion forces itself through a crack in a concrete sidewalk, spreading its leaves and flowers up to the sun. Why? Why do some things grow, and some do not? While we can understand some of what is at play in the process (moisture, sunlight, temperature), in the end we cannot truly know what converts a small, dormant seed into a tall stalk or a vast tree. It is this mystery that lies at the heart of the famous Parable of the Sower. Just as some soil does not produce a good harvest, so some hearts do not respond to the Word (Matt. 13:13-15). Why? Why do some people, having heard the good news of Jesus and “receive[d] it at once with joy,” suddenly wither and fall away? Why do some people allow “world anxiety and the lure of riches” to choke out the word so “it bears no fruit” (v.22)? And what is the mystery that allows for a heart, in defiance of every circumstance, to bear fruit and “[yield] a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold” (v.23)? 

While we can understand some of what is at play in the spiritual life (prayer, fellowship, reception of the Sacraments), in the end, we must admit that we will never truly understand the working of the Spirit in the human heart. “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord” (Is. 55:8). Even the word that falls on the seemingly unresponsive heart does “not return to [God] void” (v.11), and thus we are never without hope that growth may still occur in even the most unlikely person. After all, the only heart we can ever really know is our own. And so we ask: is there something growing in our hearts…or not? 

Reflection by Parishioner Kathryn Wilmotte