12 July 2026
Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Gospel: Matthew 13:1-23

Today is the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time. The passage from the Gospel of Saint Matthew presents us with the Parable of the Sower and the subsequent dialogue between the disciples and Jesus after hearing this parable. I wish to offer some reflections on this occasion.

One might think that in speaking to His disciples today, Jesus is merely describing a farmer going out to sow seed and the varied fates of those seeds. Yet, if we hold such a view, we remain like those who do not yet know Christ: though we hear the Word of God, we fail to grasp the meaning of the divine will. We become that “dull-hearted people, who hear but do not understand, and see but do not perceive” (cf. Isa 6:9-10; Matt 13:14-15). For we focus only on what appeals to our corruptible flesh, rejecting what seems unfathomable, and even choosing to ignore the Word of God—and all that God, in His infinite mercy, accomplishes within our lives—precisely because His Word is difficult to comprehend.

In truth, the seed is the Word of God. The Word of God was with God in the beginning (John 1:2). From the moment we left our mother’s womb and entered this world, God has ceaselessly revealed to us the mysteries of the Kingdom through “all things that were made through Him and by Him” (cf. John 1:3). Moreover, in His boundless compassion, He continues to disclose these mysteries to us through our fellow creatures: our parents and elders; our classmates and teachers; our colleagues and superiors. Through their toil and sweat, He waters the seed sown in our hearts, nurturing its growth.

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ! Whenever we heed the lessons taught by those around us in daily life, we are like the crowds who approached Jesus to listen to Him proclaim the mysteries of the Kingdom. Whenever we experience what God accomplishes within us through those with whom we interact, we come to understand the heavenly truth contained in the Word of God. When we come to the church and receive the Body and Blood of Christ from the hands of the pastor in communion with the Successor of Peter, our spirit is united with the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. If our conduct gradually conforms to His, we shall bear lasting fruit of the Holy Spirit.

O God, who show the light of your truth to those who go astray, so that they may return to the right path, give all who for the faith they profess are accounted Christians the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the name of Christ and to strive after all that does it honour. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica