Do you want the Lord to give you many graces? Visit Him often. Do you want Him to give you few graces? Visit Him rarely.

God gives each one of us sufficient grace ever to know His holy will, and to do it fully. - St. Ignatius of Loyola: (1491 – 1556: was a Spanish Basque priest and theologian, who founded the religious order called the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and became its first Superior General)

Gospel Text: (MT 13:18-23)

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Hear the parable of the sower.

The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Kingdom

without understanding it,

and the Evil One comes and steals away

what was sown in his heart.

The seed sown on rocky ground

is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.

But he has no root and lasts only for a time.

When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,

he immediately falls away.

The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,

but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word

and it bears no fruit.

But the seed sown on rich soil

is the one who hears the word and understands it,

who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold."

We usually interpret the Parable of the Seed and the Sower in terms of how different people respond to the word of God, the "seed" in the story. The different types of ground are people who receive the word.

I suggest we look at the parable in relation to how we go to Mass.

Are you like the footpath or hard ground? You go to Mass because it is an obligation of a baptized Catholic. You go to Sunday Mass but it has no effect in your life.

Are you like the rocky soil? You feel Mass recharges you and helps you when problems and challenges come. But when real serious trouble comes, you give up easily.

If you are the ground with the thistles, you are grateful for benefits received but you are overwhelmed in your practice of your Christian faith by your daily worries and problems, endless desires and monetary concerns.

If you are the good soil, your Sunday Mass is a treasured moment of your week, a blessing which animates your personal, family and professional life, a time to review and be grateful for the past week and to prepare for and be productive for the coming week. It is a blessing for you to be shared with family and friends.

What does Sunday Mass mean to me? How do I prepare for it? What do I get out of it? What does this community Sunday worship mean to me?