15th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Liturgical Colour: Green
Year: A (II)
First Reading — Isaiah 55:10–11
The word that goes out from my mouth does not return to me empty.
Thus says the Lord:
"As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do."
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm — Psalm 64(65):10–14
Response: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
You care for the earth, give it water, you fill it with riches. Your river in heaven brims over to provide its grain.
Response: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
And thus you provide for the earth; you drench its furrows; you level it, soften it with showers; you bless its growth.
Response: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
You crown the year with your goodness. Abundance flows in your steps; in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.
Response: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
The hills are girded with joy, the meadows covered with flocks, the valleys are decked with wheat. They shout for joy, yes, they sing.
Response: The seed that falls on good ground will yield a fruitful harvest.
Second Reading — Romans 8:18–23
The whole creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons.
I think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us.
The whole creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons. It was not for any fault on the part of creation that it was made unable to attain its purpose; it was made so by God. But creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to decay, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God.
From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.
The Word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation — 1 Samuel 3:9; John 6:68
Alleluia, alleluia!
The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever.
Alleluia!
Gospel — Matthew 13:1–23
A sower went out to sow.
Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables.
He said:
"Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away.
Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!"
Then the disciples went up to him and asked, "Why do you talk to them in parables?"
"Because," he replied, "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:
'You will listen and listen again, but not understand; see and see again, but not perceive. For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me.'
But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.
You, therefore, are to hear the parable of the sower.
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path.
The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him; he does not last. Let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls away at once.
The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces nothing.
The one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty."
The Gospel of the Lord.
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Reflection
There is something wonderfully ordinary about today's Gospel. Jesus does not choose an image from a palace or a temple. He speaks about a farmer walking through a field scattering seed. His listeners understood exactly what He meant because sowing was part of everyday life. That is often how God works. He meets us not only in extraordinary moments but in the ordinary routines of family life, work, friendships and daily responsibilities.
Isaiah tells us that God's word is like rain falling upon the earth. Rain rarely transforms a landscape overnight. Instead, it quietly soaks into the soil, nourishing roots that cannot yet be seen. In the same way, Scripture often works within us long before we notice any visible change. A passage we read today may become the very word that sustains us months or even years later. God's word never returns empty because He is always at work, even when His work is hidden.
The parable of the sower invites us to focus not on the seed but on the condition of our hearts. The seed is always good because it is God's word. The question is whether our hearts are ready to receive it.
Sometimes our hearts resemble the path. Life becomes so busy that God's word barely has a chance to sink in before it is crowded out by notifications, deadlines and constant noise. At other times we are like the rocky ground. We begin with enthusiasm, but when prayer feels dry or life becomes difficult, our faith struggles to put down deep roots. Then there are the thorns. Jesus names them honestly: the worries of this world and the lure of riches. Anxiety, comparison and the endless pursuit of more can quietly choke the life God wants to grow within us.
The good soil is not a perfect heart. It is a receptive heart. It belongs to the person who keeps returning to God, listens even when life is busy, and allows the Gospel to shape daily decisions. Good soil is formed through small acts of faithfulness—time spent in prayer, choosing forgiveness over resentment, speaking truth with kindness and trusting God when the future is uncertain.
St Paul broadens our vision by reminding us that all creation is longing for redemption. We know this longing ourselves. We see it whenever illness, grief, injustice or broken relationships remind us that the world is not yet as God intends it to be. Yet Paul encourages us not to lose hope. Present suffering is not the final chapter. God is preparing a harvest greater than we can imagine, and every act of faith today is part of that future.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that Sacred Scripture is living and effective because God continues to speak through it to His people (CCC 101–104). It also reminds us that every Christian is called to continual conversion so that the seed of God's word may bear lasting fruit (CCC 1427–1429). We are not merely hearers of the Gospel; we are called to become fertile ground where Christ's life can flourish.
Perhaps the question to take into the week ahead is not, "What sort of seed is God giving me?" The seed is always good. A better question is, "What kind of soil am I becoming?" Every prayer, every choice to forgive, every act of trust loosens the soil of the heart. As we continue to welcome God's word, He promises that it will accomplish His purpose and bear fruit far beyond anything we could produce on our own.
One Line to Carry Today
The fruitfulness of God's word depends not on the seed, but on the openness of the heart that receives it.
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