July 26, 2011
Memorial of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne, parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary
By Beth DeCristofaro
Moses at once bowed down to the ground in worship. Then he said, “If I find favor with you, O LORD, do come along in our company. This is indeed a stiff-necked people; yet pardon our wickedness and sins, and receive us as your own.” (Exodus 34:8-9)
(Jesus) said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the Evil One, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. (Matthew 13:37-41)
Piety
Merciful and gracious is the LORD, slow to anger, abounding in kindness.
God does not always rebuke, nurses no lasting anger,
Has not dealt with us as our sins merit, nor requited us as our deeds deserve. (Psalm 103:8-10)
Study
You should see my “garden”. It is fortunate that I am not dependent on it for my food. My “garden” which I have over the years cultivated, incorporated with good soils and compost, painstakingly planted lovely flowers especially native plants, is covered over with and being smothered by wild and very versatile weeds. It is so overwhelming that I look at it with a heavy heart knowing that the weeds are winning. The bee balm manages to poke through and show off its unruly lilac blooms but I have to hunt through the vines to find my Jacob’s ladder and lungwort. I can understand the servants in Jesus’ parable wanting to get out there and pull up any weeds among the good crops quickly, before they too take over.
Last month our neighbors who lived away and rented out their house for the past several years returned and, overwhelmed with the neglect in their yard, began a major weed and shrub wacking job that indeed, has eliminated most of the invasive vines but also decimated the formerly beautiful azaleas and removed much cover for the many birds. I haven’t seen “my” cardinal family in several weeks. Much good was destroyed with the bad.
Weeds can be enticingly attractive and impressively resistant. Jesus knows that we can’t remove them alone but he promises that they will not overwhelm us in the end. Whether they be weeds of fear, anger, distraction, boredom and sin within our own hearts and minds or weeds of violence, intolerance, ignorance or oppression which multiply in the world, Jesus says take heart and know that the seeds of the Kingdom have been sown and are blooming within the children of the Kingdom. I can act like my bee balm and lungwort which bloom and grow, keeping faith in the presence of God within my life and within the world. Being intentionally aware of God’s presence I can withstand and perhaps even overcome the weeds and take part in the growing Kingdom of God.
Action
Take the opportunity to fertilize good seeds already planted. Insist that your representatives in Congress not lose sight of caring for those most in need during these rancorous and divisive budget debates. From the USCCB website:
WASHINGTON—Religious leaders, including representatives of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), met with President Barack Obama July 20 to urge the President and congressional leaders to protect programs for hungry and poor people in decisions surrounding the deficit and debt. … “As the Catholic Bishops’ Conference, we come here not to advance a particular plan, but a fundamental moral principle: put the needs of the poor first in allocating scarce resources,” said Bishop Ramirez. “As religious leaders, our concern is not which party wins the current political battles, but we know, if we don’t speak up, who is likely to lose: the families trying to feed their kids, the jobless looking for work, the children who need health care, the hungry and sick and hopeless around the world.”
