11th sunday in ordinary time

My dear friends in Christ,
 
This weekend, I will have the joy of welcoming many of you home to St. Julia for the celebration of Mass.  Before entering the lower entrance, you will notice our beautiful gardens, many of the flowers just on the brink of entering into bloom.  I was told by our volunteer gardener who so lovingly cares for our grounds that the first year will be good, the second year even better, and the third year will be quite spectacular.  Some of the plants, the lilies in particular, will be five to six feet in height, with as many as 50 blooms on them!  This however takes time.  The vast majority of these plants came from a mail order catalog, and when they arrived did not look like much.  Everything was carefully planted, staked, and watered.
 
This Sunday in our Gospel from Mark 4:26-34, we will hear Jesus tell us the parable of the mustard seed.  The mustard seed, “when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth.  But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”  The mustard seed is the smallest of all the seeds, and yet has the potential to become the largest of plants.  This takes time.
 
The same can be said of our gardens.  With each passing year the roots get more and more established, and the results, well, we will see in the coming weeks, months, and years.  This too takes time.  And the same too can be said about out spiritual lives and building up the kingdom of God in our homes, schools, places of work, our community, and our world.  Each of us have the potential deep within.  The seeds of faith were planted many years ago.  We need to care for those seeds lovingly and nurture them – with the Word of God and the finest food – the Body and Blood of Christ.  There is simply nothing better, with proven results.  Those results are abundant fruit, a richness in our spiritual lives, and peace, an inner peace that can be found no where else.  Once again, all this takes time.
 
It is my prayer that as you join me for Mass this weekend, for many of you, I pray, in person, or virtually, that you will be nourished – that the seeds of faith will be fed, and that you will be renewed in mind, body, and spirit. 
 
Will this weekend be the right time to join your fellow sisters and brothers for Mass?  Perhaps.  If not, the time is coming very soon as we begin to emerge and see the light ahead.
 
May God continue to bless each of you and those that you love.
Fr. Greg