July 16, 2023: 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time

God speaks His Word and acts His Word simultaneously.

He sends it forth to the Earth, just like the rain and snow as Isaiah describes, and it accomplishes His purposes.

People respond in different ways, like the different types of ground on which the sower's seed falls in the parable.

Since God's Word is so mighty, we are called to have hearts with rich soil where the Word will bear fruit, so that as it accomplishes God's will, it bears fruit in us.

I visited Father Hurlbert, a former pastor at Ascension Parish, attending Mass at Nativity Parish, where he is now.  He insightfully discussed how healthy plants bear seeds that produce fruit.  Just so, those of us with a vibrant faith life pass on the faith to the next generation so that they grow abundantly and bear fruit.

We indeed are the firstfruits of the work of redemption, which St. Paul describes in the 2nd reading, which not only impacts us, but all of Creation.

God continued a mighty work of redemption through Our Lady of Mount Carmel, whose feast is today.  And he did it also through San Father Junipero Serra, a Franciscan missionary who founded the first California Mission at San Diego on July 16, 1769.  He founded a string of missions, all in the name of proclaiming the Gospel.

And so we are called to have rich soil in our hearts so that the Gospel is alive in us, even shown in how we live the Gospel as a blessing to the world around us.