Fr Kevin Kilgore

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Gospel: Matthew 11: 20-24

Jesus began to reproach the towns
where most of his mighty deeds had been done,
since they had not repented.
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty deeds done in your midst
had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would long ago have repented in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.
And as for you, Capernaum:

Will you be exalted to heaven?
You will go down to the nether world.

For if the mighty deeds done in your midst had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you, it will be more tolerable
for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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There’s one thing that all parents, grandparents, priests, and ministers of the Gospel have in common: We plant seeds.

Seeds of kindness, hope, wisdom, love, and faith, often in the hearts of younger generations – children and grandchildren. 

Sometimes we live to see the fruit of our labor. Other times, we don’t.

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Such was the case for Father Isaac Jogues.

Isaac was a French Jesuit, who was one of the first missionaries to bring the Gospel to the Native Americans in the 1600’s. Four years before he was martyred, Isaac was beaten and tortured so badly that he was already regarded as a “living martyr.” 

He spent his ministry in America planting seeds of faith without seeing its fruit.

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Ten years after his death, a girl named Kateri was born in the village where Isaac was killed. Her parents and brother died in a smallpox epidemic when she was four. Raised thereafter by her uncle, Kateri was left nearly blind with scars across her face.

The locals called her, “Tekakwitha,” which meant, “she who bumps into things.”

Throughout her childhood, Kateri listened to other French priests who passed through her village, following in the footsteps of Fr. Isaac Jogues. 

Although she said nothing to them as a child, when she turned eighteen, she sought to be baptized. In a village that gave no welcome to Christians, Kateri became a Christian.

After enduring a year of abuse by her relatives for professing her faith, Kateri decided to make a 200-mile journey on foot to a Native and Christian village outside of Montreal. 

There she embraced a life of penance, praying for the conversion of her people, accepting Christ as her Spouse.

Almost 350 years later, in 2012, Kateri was canonized as the first Native American Saint.

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While Fr. Isaac Jogues died without ever seeing the fruit of his labor, he reminds us that some of the seeds we plant in life will, in time, bear good fruit. 

May we all find a way to plant a seed of faith in a child like Kateri today.

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Image credits: (1) Magnific (2) Instagram (3) Peak Beings Yoga

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Gospel: Matthew 10:34 – 11:1

Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but the sword.
For I have come to set
a man against his father,
a daughter against her mother,
and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;
and one’s enemies will be those of his household.“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me,
and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;
and whoever does not take up his cross
and follow after me is not worthy of me.
Whoever finds his life will lose it,
and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.“Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet
will receive a prophet’s reward,
and whoever receives a righteous man
because he is righteous 
will receive a righteous man’s reward.
And whoever gives only a cup of cold water
to one of these little ones to drink
because he is a disciple–
amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples,
he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!”

What is this “fire” Jesus is referring to? Certainly not the red-hot flames that singe and destroy. Rather, the “fire” of his divine love.

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If we are in a good place spiritually, then God’s fiery presence is a blessing. As the Psalmist proclaims, “Your word is a lamp for my path and a light – a fire – for my steps.”

That same divine presence fills our heart with fiery passion. As the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed, “Your WORD is like a fire in my bones; woe to me if I do not preach it!”

We often speak of people who are divinely inspired as being “on fire” with God’s Spirit. 

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However, if we are not in a good place spiritually, then that same divine fire can burn as it purifies our hearts.

For example, the first day of sobriety can feel like fire to an addict. But God is mercifully burning away an addiction that once held a person captive.

Telling the truth can feel like fire to someone caught in a lie. But God is burning away dishonesty. As it’s written elsewhere, “The Truth shall set you free.”

Forgiving a deep-seeded wound can feel like fire to someone who’s been nursing a grudge, but God is burning away the anger from a person’s heart.

An act of humility can feel like fire to our ego. But humility is always superior to pride.

Sobriety, honesty, forgiveness, humility, these are all good things! They’re necessary for healthy relationships and spiritual growth. But they can feel like fire to a person who is coming out of the darkness.

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Where does God’s presence feel like a soothing fire or a guiding light? And where might it burn?

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“I have come to set the earth on fire,” Jesus says, “and how I wish it were already blazing.” Lord, give us the welcome your evermore into our hearts, even when it burns. 

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Image credits: (1) Pantocrator, Sinai (2) Peak Beings Yoga (3) AnaStPaul

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Gospel: Matthew 13: 1-9

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. 
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore. 
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow. 
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up. 
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. 
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots. 
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. 
But some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. 
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Preaching is an art.

It involves creativity, wisdom, storytelling, humor, a deep understanding of the human spirit, a strong ability to connect with an audience, and a lot of time spent in prayer. 

Few have mastered it. Jesus did.

Crowds would follow him for days, hanging on his every word, as his pulpit moved from the synagogue to a living room to the bedside of the dying. From an open field to a mountaintop to the stern of a boat in today’s Gospel.

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Within the crowds, there were different types of listeners. Some hung on his every word, a few were skeptical but interested, and others only wanted to ensnare him in his speech. So, the Lord hid his message in parables.

As he spoke, we can imagine his body swaying back and forth as the waves lapped against his boat. His words gently rocking some to sleep, while mesmerizing others. 

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“A sower went out to sow,” he begins. And as he sowed, seed fell on four different types of soil – hardened, rocky, thorny, and fertile. Each representing either a different person in the crowd or a different part of ourselves.

First, the sower comes across hardened soil. Imagine the dark, packed-down type of dirt that develops along a walking path. When seed lands upon it, it remains on the surface, so the birds come and swiftly eat it up.

This type of soil represents a person with a heart hardened towards God, perhaps the result of suffering, unanswered questions, or feeling trampled upon by others. 

It’s hard to imagine a heavenly Father who is loving, sensitive, and compassionate if we are denied such treatment by others. Yet the sower scatters seed along the resistant path anyway.

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Next, he comes across rocky soil, which is difficult to penetrate. As a result, the soil remains helplessly shallow.

This might represent someone who is benevolent towards religion, but lacks any depth or inner stability. Eventually the heat intensifies – suffering or hardship comes their way – and because the soil is shallow, the seeds of faith have not taken root, so they dry up in the sun.

Still, the sower spreads seed there anyway.

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Next, he comes across thorny soil, known for its competition. While good fruit grows, thorns grow alongside it. Eventually, the thorns choke the fruit, causing it to spoil.

Such a person might struggle choosing between what is good versus what is great. While the Word of God takes root and begins sprouting within them, the lure of materialism, success, image, or worldly concerns chokes their commitment to faith, causing it to spoil. 

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Finally, the sower comes across rich, fertile soil. 

This represents a person who receives the Word of God and is nurtured by it, making it their lasting foundation. The litmus test for such an individual is the size of the harvest they bear. Not only belief, but also good work abounds.

The irony is, in order for soil to become fertile, it must first be broken open, crushed, repeatedly separated. You might say it endures a storm or two, yet that causes it to soften.

Such a person may have experienced difficulties in life, but they did not turn away from God; rather, being humbled and broken did the opposite. It created an openness to the Gospel, leading to a harvest thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold.

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While it’s easier to place ourselves into one of these four categories, the truth is that there may be a bit of each of them in all of us.

For example, a person who has been away from the Church or distanced from God for many years may feel consoled by the parable of the Prodigal Son.

New converts may be drawn to Christ’s teachings on morality, prayer, and the Eucharist.

Life-long believers may feel comforted by Christ’s invitation to yoke their burdens to him.

But the same listeners might feel far less receptive to forgiving those who’ve hurt them; to taking up their cross; to turning the other cheek; or to loving their enemies. Such word might fall upon hardened, rocky, or thorny soil within us.

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Preaching is an art.

But so is listening.

Lord, grant us the grace to become like fertile soil in every aspect of our lives. To listen to your words, to be inwardly changed by them, and to bear fruit thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold.

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Image credits: (1) Sermon on the Mount, Copenhagen (2) The Jagged Word (3) Manly Life Church