"Have patience with all things, But, first of all with yourself."

“Let nothing disturb thee, nothing affright thee; all things are passing; God never changes.” - Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint and Doctor of the Catholic Church

Gospel Text: (MT 13:24-30)

Jesus proposed a parable to the crowds.

“The Kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man

who sowed good seed in his field.

While everyone was asleep his enemy came

and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off.

When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well.

The slaves of the householder came to him and said,

‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?

Where have the weeds come from?’

He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’

His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds

you might uproot the wheat along with them.

Let them grow together until harvest;

then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters,

“First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning;

but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

It's very easy to notice the weeds in the Church. The doubt, hypocrisy, confusion, and gossip of the weeds make life hard for the Church. Our work as Catholics is also hindered because the world is turned off to Jesus by the sinful behavior of the “weeds”. It seems best for everybody to pull the weeds. But the Lord knows that once they're pulled, they're dead. So He lets the weeds live and the wheat suffer for a while so that the weeds will have the maximum opportunity to repent and become wheat.

Rejoice when you suffer redemptively, for this means that there's time for the weeds to change and for the harvest to double.