REFLECTIONS ON THE WORD – 01/28/22 (Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas)

Mark 4:26-27,29

26 And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, 27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how.

29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

For the full readings, click here: 

https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/daily-readings

Blessed Memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas! The seed refers to the Word of God and the teachings of Christ. In the parable, the seed grew even though the man who scattered it did not know how. This signifies that the revelation of God bears fruit in our hearts, not through human intervention, but through the grace of God. No matter how good, strong or wise we are, we should only be dependent on God's grace for our spiritual growth. This is what we can also see in the life of St. Thomas Aquinas. He was known as one of the greatest saints, doctors and scholars of the Catholic Church. He entered the Dominican order when he was 19 years old, but his family was against it. As such, he was trapped in a room with a woman who seduced him to commit sexual sin, but the purity of St. Thomas Aquinas prevailed. He drove the woman away, marked a cross on the wall, and he prayed. He always looked for God's grace and strength, especially through prayers. This is the secret of his wisdom, virtues and holiness in his vocation. 

How about us? When we surrender ourselves to Jesus and accept His teachings, we can see some spiritual growth in our lives. However, we may think that we can reject the temptations by our own capabilities. In reality, we are weak without the grace of God. If we become overconfident, at the moment that temptations come, we can easily fall to our sins. When we see the imperfections and mistakes of other people, we can be angry with them or hate them instead of love them. Even with lust, we can be tempted by people who do not practice modesty, by some people we know who don't practice chastity, by the internet and by our gadgets. But, God allows us to fall, so we can trust in Him even more. Jesus wants us to learn from our mistakes, so we can lean on His strength, not on ours, through prayers and sacraments. Even if we are guilty of many grave sins, He invites us to the sacrament of confession where He will blot out all of our offense. And, He wants us to renew our love for Him by being firm in our prayers and by staying away from occasions of sins. 

May we always seek the grace and mercy of God by praying, especially when we experience temptations. If we trust in Him, His grace will bear fruit in our lives. Let us always depend on Him, and at the right time, He will bring us to His Heavenly Kingdom together with all the saints to praise Him and love Him for eternity. 

Amen +

 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

 

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic