Sunday, July 16, 2023

Sower of Heart-Seeds

Reflecting on today's gospel reading from Matthew 13:1-23, the parable about the sower and the seed, I kept thinking about the poem I wrote a couple weeks ago after hearing the words "We planted roses in the garden of Gethsemane" spoken to my heart in prayer. A different poem I wrote a few months ago included the line "Love makes blood into Roses", and it made me think of all of the parabolic possibilities. Christ shed his blood for us with so much love. The seeds of his love (blood) enrich the fertile soil of our hearts (depending on how fertile and receptive the soil of our hearts are) and we have the propensity to abundantly bloom with the seeds of his graces. The seeds are planted in our hearts (a whisper) and we can choose to accept these graces that are showered on us gratuitously. The roses grow from these seeds in our hearts and the roses are not only a symbol of what was to come (he literally "rose" from the dead"), but the petals are strong. Stronger than the flesh, which is weak. The roses can also symbolize ourselves, as we are the seeds he planted in his own heart. The "garden" of gethsemane is a garden that exists outside of time (although it was a real place), it is also a mystical spiritual garden that exists in the infinite and in our hearts. It can also be a metaphor for sexual union.

Plant your seed in my garden and watch the roses bloom inside my heart.

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