Feed the Seed

Nourishing the seed of faith planted within us

07/16/2017

Matthew 13:1-9 On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore.  And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.  Whoever has ears ought to hear."

         “Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells, and pretty maids all in a row.” You’ve probably heard that nursery rhyme before. But have you heard an interpretation for it? There are actually several possible meanings of the rhyme, but my favorite is the Catholic one. Duh. The subject of the rhyme is a woman named “Mary,” someone who is “quite contrary,” and that refers to the Blessed Virgin Mary. That means that Mary is “contrary” to the common, acceptable modes of behavior, she’s not in step with her peers – she’s counter-cultural because she’s both a fruitful virgin and yet also a chaste mother. She’s very contrary, paradoxical.

What then is her garden? There are two meanings hidden here. One is the garden of the whole Church – because she is the mother of the Church, and she tends all her children like flowers in her garden. But Mary’s garden is also the individual souls of each Christian, where she cultivates the virtues to grow, like chastity, honesty, cheerfulness and hardwork. Mary makes both the universal Church as well as the individual souls of Christians grow in holiness.

          The silver bells are church bells, especially the bells we hear rung at Mass. When I ring the those bells before Mass starts, what happens? Everyone jumps up: that’s how Mary makes the garden sprout, people jump up. The cockle shells are a little more arcane, a less familiar symbol. A shell is awarded to a person who’s completed a pilgrimage, especially the grueling 550-mile pilgrimage across northern Spain to Santiago de Compostella. Therefore cockle shells represent piety and prayer and pilgrimage. Nothing helps you grow in goodness and grace like serious and sustained prayer.

And finally, what do “pretty maids all in a row” refer to ? Well, it’s not the chorus line on Broadway! It’s actually a chorus of nuns in chapel at “Lauds” and “Vespers,” chanting their morning and evening prayers. I think it’s a real tragedy that St. Anne Convent is not filled with Sisters of Mercy, and St. Scholastica Monastery is not overflowing with Benedictine nuns. What a big blessing they would be in our Catholic schools, rapping kids knuckles with rulers! Cloistered and consecrated nuns make us grow in virtue because of their words of exhortation and their works of mercy.

          The point of this popular rhyme is simple but also serious: if you want a garden to grow, they need careful and constant cultivation. If you leave them alone, weeds and wild things will take over. If you’re growing a spiritual garden, you need to provide supernatural fertilizer – the sacraments, sacrifice, and sound spirituality – that’s how you feed the seed of faith.

          In the gospel today, Jesus is also concerned about making seeds grow, an analogy for the spiritual maturation of Christians. He tells the parable of the sower who spreads seeds on different soils, some soil gives growth while others choke off the plants because the ground is not carefully cultivated. Jesus wants to warn his disciples about the danger of not being fertile soil. Why? Faith only flourishes in good ground. In other words, it takes effort to make your faith grow, while it is easy to lose your faith: simply do nothing, simply by neglect.

           Do you know anyone who used to be Catholic but now no longer goes to church, to Mass? I bet you do, and maybe it’s someone in your own family. Scott Hahn, the Presbyterian minister-turned Catholic-theologian, frequently says that the largest Christian denomination in the United States is “Roman Catholic.” But he adds that the second largest is “ex-Catholics.” These fallen away Catholics called “the nones” because their religion is “none in particular.” In August, 2016, the Pew Research Center said: “Perhaps the most striking trend in American religion in recent years has been the growing percentage of adults who do not identify with a religious group. And the vast majority of these religious “nones” (78%) say they were raised as a member of a particular religion before shedding their religious identity in adulthood.” Why is this a growing trend?  The answer is simple. The seeds of faith fells on shallow soil, and it withered and died, because people did not “feed the seed.” Those who were Catholic did not remember the nursery rhyme, “Mary, Mary, quite contrary,” they did not seek Mary’s prayers, or hear the “silver bells” of Mass, or pursue the “cockle shells” of pilgrim piety, or the sacrifices of sisters, “the pretty maids all in a row.” It takes a lot of effort to stay in the Church, it merely takes neglect to leave the Church, because you fail to feed the seed.

          My friends, how do you feed the seed of your faith, how do you cultivate good ground? It’s not enough to just come to Mass once a week; that would be like watering your flowers or vegetables once a week. Let me suggest two ways. First, what kind of company do you keep? Who are your companions and confidants? I love to text people all the time, especially on Friday nights when they’re probably at a party. I’ll text someone and their friend will ask, “Hey, who texted you?” And the Catholic will reply cover their mouth and mumble: “Um, my priest.” But you see what happens: when you’re friends with a priest: that says something about you. It says you probably don’t have much of a social life. But it also says you “feed the seed of your faith.” Who are your friends, do they cultivate your faith or cause you to forget it?

          The second suggestion is to consider what you are reading these days. What books are feeding your head and your heart? Of course, it’s fine to enjoy fantasies and fiction, histories and mysteries. But also make time for some serious spiritual reading. The Bible first and foremost. Currently, I’m reading several books: The Dynamics of World History by Christopher Dawson (a great book on the role of religion in history), The Lord by Romano Guardini (who helps you see Jesus in a whole new way), The Drama of Atheistic Humanism by Henri de Lubac (answering the question why people are atheists today), and in my car, listening to audio books, “Building a Biblical Worldview” by Scott Hahn and “Hamlet” by Shakespeare. Even a priest must feed the seed of faith, or he will starve his soul.

          Folks, the most precious gift you have been given is the seed of faith. But faith will not flower or flourish on its own; you must feed the seed. Mary’s garden grows because she uses supernatural fertilizer, and that’s how your garden will grow, too. Or it will not.

Praised be Jesus Christ!