The texts from the Roman Catholic Lectionary exhort us to be dedicated to seeking to develop the fertile ground of a mind prepared to accept transformative growth in Christ.
The Reading from the First Letter to Timothy declares Exhortations to Timothy.
* [6:11–16] Timothy’s position demands total dedication to God and faultless witness to Christ (1 Tm 6:11–14) operating from an awareness, through faith, of the coming revelation in Jesus of the invisible God (1 Tm 6:15–16).
* [6:11] Man of God: a title applied to Moses and the prophets (Dt 33:1; 1 Sm 2:27; 1 Kgs 12:22; 13:1; etc.). (1 Timothy, CHAPTER 6, n.d.)
Psalm 100 is a hymn of the chosen people of God.
* [Psalm 100] A hymn inviting the people to enter the Temple courts with thank offerings for the God who created them.
* [100:3] Although the people call on all the nations of the world to join in their hymn, they are conscious of being the chosen people of God. (Psalms, PSALM 100, n.d.)
The Gospel of Luke presents The Parable of the Sower
* [8:4–21] The focus in this section is on how one should hear the word of God and act on it. It includes the parable of the sower and its explanation (Lk 8:4–15), a collection of sayings on how one should act on the word that is heard (Lk 8:16–18), and the identification of the mother and brothers of Jesus as the ones who hear the word and act on it (Lk 8:19–21). See also notes on Mt 13:1–53 and Mk 4:1–34.
* [8:4–8] See note on Mt 13:3–8.
* [8:11–15] On the interpretation of the parable of the sower, see note on Mt 13:18–23. (Luke, CHAPTER 8, n.d.)
Sara Schulte-Bukowinski comments that the dangers to the Christian faith in this time and place are much more subtle and difficult to notice. That doesn’t mean they are absent.
I need to learn to pay attention to how the seeds of the Word are stolen, choked, withered in me and the world around me today, and how I might cooperate with God’s grace in creating good soil. The first is to name some of those threats to the seeds of Good News—isolation, excessive social media consumption, consumerism, and a superficial identification with the faith. I find some of these in myself, and I observe some of them in the world around me. They can be so subtle that they are easy to miss. It is easier to go with the flow. After all, there are consequences for being counter-cultural. They may not be literal martyrdom, but they are costs nonetheless. (Schulte-Bukowinski, n.d.)
Don Schwager quotes “The Devil snatches good seed off the path,” by Cyril of Alexandria (376-444 AD).
"The seed is the Word of God. Those on the way are they who have heard. Afterwards, the devil comes and takes away the Word from their heart, that they may not believe and be saved. We see in a moment that the hardness of the ground causes the seed on the pathways to be snatched away. A pathway always is hard and untilled, because it is exposed to every one's feet. It does not admit any seed into it, but it lies rather upon the surface, ready for any birds that will to snatch it away. All whose minds are hard and unyielding, and so to speak, pressed together, do not receive the divine seed. The divine and sacred admonition does not find an entrance into them. They do not accept the words that would produce in them the fear of God and by means of which they could bring forth as fruits the glories of virtue. They have made themselves a beaten and trampled pathway for unclean demons, yes, for Satan himself, such as never can bear holy fruit. Let those who are awake, whose heart is sterile and unfruitful, open your mind, receive the sacred seed, be like productive and well-tilled soil, bring forth to God the fruits that will raise you to an incorruptible life."(excerpt from COMMENTARY ON LUKE, HOMILY 41) (Schwager, n.d.)
The Word Among Us Meditation on Luke 8:4-15 God didn’t just drop a seed in you and then wait to see what you would do with it. No, he wants to help you cultivate the garden of your heart—to remove rocks, water the soil, and pull out the weeds and thorns that crop up there.
Today in prayer, invite Jesus to walk through your garden with you. Ask him to show you all the spiritual fruit that is already growing in you: his love, his mercy, his patience, his peace. Imagine how he rejoices over all that he finds. Ask him also to point out the rough, barren patches where selfishness, envy, pride, or other enemies have been able to weaken or prevent any growth. Know that no matter what he shows you, he is doing it so that you can become even more fruitful than you already are. He wants nothing but good for you, so you can always trust him.
“Come, Lord, and search my heart. Help me bear abundant fruit for your kingdom!” (Meditation on Luke 8:4-15, n.d.)
Friar Jude Winkler comments that 1 Timothy towards the end is a parenesis, a last instruction on how to behave until Jesus returns that is expressing a future eschatology unlike Paul’s sense of the imminent return of Christ. The parable of the sower can be understood as a paraphrase of the Great Commandment loving God with our whole heart, understood as our intellect, and soul until the life is torn from us like the seed on rocky ground and the seed among the thorns of love of earthly passions or on the fertile ground of a prepared heart. Friar Jude notes that the end of the parable is a quote from Isaiah that Jesus uses to express that He has spoken as simply as possible doing everything He could to help them understand.
Father Richard Rohr, OFM, shares the Seeing Through the Eyes of Love: Weekly Summary and introduces Carmen Acevedo Butcher to lead a guided meditation.
On the in-breath, hear God, love, or however you name divinity saying, “I love you,” to you. And on the out breath, say back, with all your childlike heart, “I love you” to God or love. Breathing in the beauty of God’s “I love you,” and breathing out your heartfelt “I love you” back.
Whatever comes up while doing this breath prayer—joy, sorrow, fear, grief, anger, gratitude, shame—feel it. Hold it gently, remembering, as Jim Finley says, “Love and love alone has the authority to name who we are,” and then let the feeling go. Breathing in the beauty of God’s “I love you,” that loves us through, and through, and through. Breathing out your heartfelt “I love you” back.
Why do we love each other? The best love tastes of “without a why.” Meister Eckhart called it “sunder warumbe,” … “without a why.” Eyes open to ever-flowing divine grace. We can pause and do this meditation anywhere, any time, to remind us that only love has the authority to name who we are. May you be blessed. We love you. (Rohr, n.d.)
We meditate on the Way we are called by the Spirit to act in response to the Love of God with our whole heart and soul.
References
Luke, CHAPTER 8. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 20, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/luke/8?4
Meditation on Luke 8:4-15. (n.d.). Word Among Us Homepage. Retrieved September 20, 2025, from https://wau.org/meditations/2025/09/20/1386468/
1 Timothy, CHAPTER 6. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 20, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/1timothy/6?13
Psalms, PSALM 100. (n.d.). USCCB. Retrieved September 20, 2025, from https://bible.usccb.org/bible/psalms/100?1
Rohr, R. (n.d.). Daily Meditations — Center for Action and Contemplation. Center for Action and Contemplation. Retrieved September 20, 2025, from https://cac.org/daily-meditations/seeing-through-the-eyes-of-love-weekly-summary/
Schulte-Bukowinski, S. (n.d.). Daily Bible Readings. Creighton Online Ministries: Home. Retrieved September 20, 2025, from https://onlineministries.creighton.edu/daily-reflections/daily-reflection-september-20-2025
Schwager, D. (n.d.). He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear. Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations – Daily Scripture Readings and Meditations. Retrieved September 20, 2025, from https://www.dailyscripture.net/daily-meditation/?ds_year=2025&date=sep20
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