Sunday, November 10 : Saint John-Mary Vianney

In today’s gospel, my friends, we see that when the owner of the field had sowed his seed in good soil, the enemy came while he was sleeping and sowed weeds in it. What this means is that God created Man good and perfect but the enemy came and sowed sin. This was Adam’s downfall, a terrible fall that opened the door to sin in the human heart. Are you saying that we must pull out the weeds? “But no,” the Lord replies, “for fear that in pulling up the weeds you pull up the good seed as well. Wait until harvest.” This is how the human heart must remain until the end: a mixture of good and bad, vice and virtue, light and darkness, good seed and weeds. God did not wish to destroy this mix and refashion a nature in us where there would be nothing but good seed. He wants us to fight, to strive to prevent the weeds from taking over. The devil comes to sow temptation across our path, but we are able to overcome it by grace, we can smother the weeds. Three things are absolutely necessary against temptation: prayer to enlighten us, the sacraments to strengthen us, and vigilance to preserve us. Happy are souls that are tempted! It is when the devil discerns that a soul is tending towards union with God that he redoubles his rage.

Roman Extraordinary (Tridentine) Daily Readings – rosary,team