GOSPEL (Matt. XIII. 24-30,)'At that time, Jesus spoke this parable to the multitudes: The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that sowed good seed in his field. But while men were asleep, his enemy came, and oversowed cockle among the wheat, and went his way. And when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle. And the servants of the good man of the house coming, said to him: Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence, then, hath it cockle? And he said to them: An enemy bath done this. And the servants said to him: Wilt thou that we go and gather it up? And he said: No, lest perhaps, gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it. Suffer both to grow until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my barn.'
What is understood by the kingdom of heaven ?
The Church of God, or the collection of all orthodox Christians on earth, destined for heaven.
What is meant by the good seed, and by the cockle?
The good seed, as Christ Himself says, (Matt. XIII. 38.) signifies the children of the kingdom, that is, the true Christians, the living members of the Church, who being converted by the word of God sown into their hearts become children of God, and bring forth the fruit of good works. The cockle means the children of iniquity, of the devil, that is, those who do evil; also every wrong, false doctrine which leads men to evil.
Who sows the good seed, and by the cockle?
The good seed is sown by Jesus, the Son of Man not only directly, but through His apostles, and the priests, their successors; the evil seed is sown by the devil, or by wicked men whom he uses as his tools.
Who are the men who were asleep? This one is what we are seeing today, and have for at least the past 50+ years.
Those superiors in the Church; those bishops and pastors who have gotten lazy caring for their flock, and do not warn them against seduction, when the devil comes and by wicked men sows the cockle of erroneous doctrine and of crime; and those men who are careless and neglect to hear the word of God and the sacrifice of the Mass, who neglect to pray, and do not receive the Sacraments. ie., everyone goes to heaven, you can hold Christ Himself in your grubby hands, no need for sacrifice or old prayers and practices, etc. In the souls of such the devil sows the seeds of bad thoughts, evil imaginations and desires, from which spring, later, the cockle of pride, impurity, anger, envy, avarice, etc.
Why does not God allow the cockle, that is, the wicked people, to be rooted out and destroyed?
Because of His patience and long suffering towards the sinner to whom He gives time for repentance, and because of His love for the just from whom He would not, by weeding out the unjust, take away the occasion of practicing virtue and gathering up merits for themselves; for because of the unjust, the just have numerous opportunities to exercise patience, humility, etc.
When is the time of the harvest?
The day of the last judgment when the reapers, that is, the angels, will go out and separate the wicked from the just, and throw the wicked into the fiery furnace; while the just will be taken into everlasting joy. (Matt. XIII. 29.)
The enemy, who came to sow cockle whilst the men were asleep, reminds us of another of our Lord's sayings: "Watch ye and pray, that ye enter not into temptation" (Matt. 26: 41). Vigilance and prayer are the best means of resisting the enemy when he comes to tempt us; it behooves us especially to be on our guard against him.
In what frame of mind ought we to await the coming of temptation? In order that our foe may not assail us unawares, we must always remember that, as long as we live, we shall never be free from temptation. We are reminded of this in Holy Scripture, where we read: "Son, when thou comest to the service of God . . . prepare thy soul for temptation" (Eccl. 2: 1). All who have ever seriously resolved to serve God have been subject to many grievous temptations, as we see from the lives of the saints. St. John Chrysostom says: "Of those who have been dearest and most pleasing to God, there never was one without grievous temptations, although it might appear to us that this was not the case."
For this reason we ought not to lose courage when we are tempted, nor fancy that God has forsaken us; on the contrary, temptations are a proof of His love, as He wishes to secure our salvation by means of them.
It is only when we are tempted that we can show plainly that we love God and goodness more than anything else. As Blosius says: "A pilot is seen to advantage when directing a ship, a hero on the field of battle, a brave man in adversity, and Christian virtue in time of temptation." Trees send their roots more deeply into the earth, the more they are shaken by storms, and, in the same way, virtue is made perfect in weakness. Our own weakness becomes very plain to us when we are tempted, and our recognition of it makes us humble, and leads us to distrust ourselves and trust solely in God. Humility lies at the root of all virtue, and whatever intensifies it, strengthens our spiritual life. Just as a seaman loads his ship with heavy ballast to keep it steady and prevent it from being dashed against the rocks by the waves, so God sends us temptations to steady us and keep us down, so that we may not be puffed up by any good qualities that we happen to possess, and so come to ruin.
St. Gregory Nazianzen remarks that God orders things in a wonderful way for us to be frequently tormented by temptations, since man might imagine himself strong in his own strength, unless in the depths of his heart he were conscious of his weakness. When temptation falls upon him, and he is tortured and, as it seems, excessively exhausted by it, he sees that humility is the only protection against it, and so the very thing that made him fear to fall causes him to begin to stand firm.
Temptation forces us to cling to God, and to have recourse to Him with confidence, knowing that He loves us. If we use it aright, it leads us to love Him more.
It increases also our charity toward our neighbor. Those who have not learned by personal experience of temptation how great human weakness is are apt to judge others too harshly and mercilessly. In spite of all his goodness and piety, a man who had never been tempted could not use due leniency and charity in judging is neighbour, and his severity and sternness, far from assisting the tempted and sinful, and bringing them back to God, would only plunge them yet deeper into sin. This is beautifully expressed in Holy Scripture in the words: "What doth he know that hath not been tried?" (Eccl. 3: 4 ─ 9).
It is only when we ourselves suffer temptation that we can advise and help others, partly that they may avoid what might imperil their Salvation, and partly that they may have recourse to the best means of overcoming their temptations.
We must not lose courage when we are tried, but fight bravely, and in this way alone we shall obtain the wisdom and strength necessary to enable us to be of service to others and help them to work out their Salvation.
Finally we ought not to forget that our struggles to resist temptation win for us a rich supply of merit. As St. Paul says: "He that striveth for the mastery, is not crowned except he strive lawfully" (2 Tim. 2: 5). The crown of everlasting life is composed of the merit won by resisting and overcoming temptation.
St. Ambrose gives us most encouraging advice, when he tells us not to fear temptations, but to rejoice in them and say: "If we are tempted, we are mighty, for then crowns of righteousness are being woven for us as conquerors." When you are tried, remember that your eternal reward is being prepared for you.
It is indispensable to our salvation that we should be tempted — in what frame of mind ought we therefore to await temptation? The answer can easily be supplied from what I have already said. It would be reckless folly to go out of one's way to look for temptations, but, on the other hand, if it assails us, it would be silly and harmful to lose courage and to fancy that God had forsaken us.
In times of trial let us remember St. John Chrysostom's words, '...temptation is good evidence of God's care for us. When it is present, God is not far away. Hence when it comes upon you, acknowledge calmly and without disturbance of mind your own weakness; look at the depths to which you might fall, if you were not upheld by God's almighty Hand; humble yourself before God in your heart, but at the same time call upon Him with childlike confidence to help you, and rely upon Him, trusting absolutely in Him. He is the Protector of all who trust in Him, and we need fear no defeat, as long as He is on our side. No matter how great or how violent a temptation may be.
Let us be firmly convinced that the devil has power over us only to the extent permitted by God, in order that we may be tried for our good.
Humble, but unwavering confidence in God, is the disposition with which we may fearlessly encounter temptation.
Let us always be ready to exclaim : "If I trust in the Lord, I shall not be overthrown. Even if armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear; if a battle should rise up against me, in Him will I be confident" (Ps. 26: 3).
Nothing but true confidence in God can give us the courage necessary in our struggle against temptation, and this confidence we should awaken daily and hourly in our hearts.
No matter how often and how much we are tempted, let us never doubt God's willingness to help us. We have only to lift up our hearts to Him in childlike trust, and we shall be saved, and thus each time of temptation will be not a snare for our destruction, but one of those glorious moments when the crown of life everlasting is being prepared for us.
As St. Jerome says: "You are deceived if you think that a Christian can live without persecution. He suffers the greatest who lives under none. Nothing is more to be feared than too long a peace. A storm puts a man upon his guard, and obliges him to exert his utmost efforts to escape shipwreck."
Let us pray
O Lord, we beseech thee to keep thy family continually in godliness, that they who do lean only upon the hope of thine heavenly grace, may evermore be defended by thy mighty power.
On an ending note, I say: "Don't let the cockle sowers get you down."
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