Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time – 12th July 2026
Dear brothers and sisters,
Today’s Gospel begins with a beautiful and very simple image. Jesus tells us about a Sower who goes out to sow his seed. He is not a king. He is not a scholar. He is not a powerful man. He is simply a farmer, walking slowly across his field, scattering seed with generous hands.
If we had been in his place, we might have done things differently. We would probably have said, “Don’t waste the seed on the path. Don’t throw it among the rocks. Don’t scatter it where the thorns are growing.”
But God does not think as we do. He scatters his seed everywhere.
This is the first piece of Good News in today’s Gospel: God never gives up on people. Even when we have lost hope in ourselves, God continues to sow. His word falls into every heart. It falls into the heart of a child and the heart of an elderly person. It falls into the heart of someone who comes to Mass every Sunday and into the heart of someone who has not entered a church for years. It falls into the heart of the saint and into the heart of the sinner.
For God, no heart is ever beyond hope.
Perhaps someone here today is quietly thinking, “If God really knew me, he would stop believing in me.” But today’s Gospel tells us exactly the opposite. God keeps sowing, even when he sees stones, thorns and hard ground. He sees beyond what we can see. He sees the harvest that his grace can one day bring.
There is a story about an elderly man who spent his days planting oak trees in a place where very little seemed able to grow. Someone asked him, “Why are you planting these trees? You will never live long enough to sit in their shade.” The old man smiled and replied, “I have enjoyed the shade of trees that I never planted. Someone planted them for me. Now it is my turn to plant them for others.”
That is how God works. He keeps sowing without growing tired. He keeps sowing without becoming discouraged. He keeps sowing because he never stops hoping. But today’s Gospel also invites us to look honestly at our own hearts. Sometimes our hearts are like the path. We hear God’s word, but it never really enters us. We listen to it at Mass, but by Monday morning we have already forgotten it. At other times we are like the rocky ground. We become enthusiastic very quickly. We make good resolutions. We tell ourselves, “From tomorrow I will pray more. From tomorrow I will be more patient.” But when difficulties come, we quickly lose heart.
Sometimes our hearts are full of thorns. Not because we do not love God, but because worries, busy schedules and everyday concerns leave very little room for him. Then God’s word struggles to grow.