The Seed that Falls on Good Ground I am so blessed to have grown up working on a farm. I learned so many things there that really prepared me to better understand the Sacred Scriptures: preparing the soil, planting seeds, irrigating and pulling weeds. By the time I was 10 years old, I had seen puppies and colts being born, and I had seen many of them die. I had to bury them. I saw the devastating consequences of a lack of rain (which only God could send) and too much rain (which only God could stop). I learned what volunteer corn is. (Do you know what volunteer corn is?) As a small boy, my grandfather would put us into the peanut patch to pull the weeds. Cockle burrows grew in abundance among the peanut plants, and they had to be pulled out by hand. Some of them were bigger than I was, and their roots ran deep. I was not strong enough to pull some of the larger ones out. My grandfather would laugh and say, “Boys, you gotta say a prayer before you pull cockle burrows.” And I would say, “Why Grandaddy?” And he replied, “Because the devil holds onto the roots!” I almost believed him. Depending on God, faith, is an essential occupational virtue for a farmer. Anyone who puts seeds into the ground and then goes to bed, and truly believes that those seeds are going to grow, and his livelihood depends on it, has great faith. For thousands of years, farming has been an essential human work. And Jesus uses farming images to teach us about the Kingdom of God. The mustard seed, so tiny, which becomes the largest tree. Weeds among the wheat. A winnowing fan. Preparing the soil. Bringing in the sheaves. We will get some farming images in the Gospel this Sunday. If you don’t know what volunteer corn is, I will explain it in the homily this weekend. It is a teaching that fills me with hope! God bless you,