Reflection for Wednesday January 28 Memorial of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church: Mark 4:1-20

Gospel: Mark 4:1-20

On another occasion, Jesus began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them,  “Hear this! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 

Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots.  Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.” 

And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. He answered them, “The mystery of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, so that they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand, in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.” 

Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. 

But they have no roots; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

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Reflection:

Are we truly open to hearing and receiving the words of Jesus?

The words of Jesus are the seeds that He lovingly sows in our hearts. We encounter these living words when we open our Bible, when we participate in Holy Mass, and when we listen to or read reflections on the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ. Each time we hear His word, God is gently at work, inviting us to grow, to change, and to bear fruit.

Yet, if we are honest with ourselves, many of us listen to the Good News most attentively when we are burdened by problems, trials, and worries. We come to God with open hearts when we are in pain, when we are lost, or when we have nowhere else to turn. But once our problems are solved, how often do we slowly drift away again, distancing ourselves from His word—until the next storm comes into our lives?

At times, without realizing it, we treat God like a last resort, a “spiritual emergency tool” that we use only when we are in need. And because of this, the word of God fails to take deep root in our hearts, and we do not become the fruitful followers that Jesus calls us to be.

So how can we become truly fruitful followers of the Lord? We become fruitful when we do not merely hear His word, but when we read it, listen to it, reflect on it, and share it. We become fruitful when we allow the word of God to dwell in our hearts, to shape our thinking, to purify our intentions, and to transform our way of living.

When this happens, we begin to see the world, ourselves, and others with new eyes—eyes formed by the teachings and the love of Jesus. Then we become the rich soil that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel, the soil that receives the seed, allows it to grow, and produces an abundant harvest (Mark 4:20).

We have seen this happen in real life. There are people who allow themselves to be transformed by the seeds—that is, by the words of God. From being bad, they become good. From being irresponsible, they become responsible. From being corrupt, they become upright. What caused such a change? It is not merely human effort. It is because they allowed God’s word to enter their hearts, to take root, and to work quiet but powerful miracles in their lives.

God is still sowing His word in our hearts today. The question is not whether He is giving us His word—the question is whether we are truly making room for it. Will we allow the word of Jesus to remain in us, to change us, and to bear fruit in us? Or will we continue to receive it only when it is convenient or when we are in trouble?

Will we finally allow ourselves to become the good soil, so that our lives may no longer be just hearers of the Word, but living witnesses through whom the Lord can bless others? — Marino J. Dasmarinas