STAUNTON,VA. (Catholic Online) - I write to you from my annual Diocesan Deacons Convocation. It has been a fruitful time of prayer, shared liturgy and theological instruction. It has also been a time for fellowship, presenting an opportunity to get caught up with other men who are living this vocation of going from the ambo, to the altar and into the world, in order to bring the world to Jesus and into His Church. The Gospel text for our closing day is very apropos. It is taken from Luke's account of the parable of the sower which is also found in the other synoptic Gospels.

In the last part of the parable Jesus opens up the parable of the sower and the seed upon inquiry by His disciples in these words: "This is the meaning of the parable. The seed is the word of God. Those on the path are the ones who have heard, but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts that they may not believe and be saved. Those on rocky ground are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, but they have no root; they believe only for a time and fall away in time of temptation."

"As for the seed that fell among thorns, they are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the anxieties and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. But as for the seed that fell on rich soil, they are the ones who, when they have heard the word, embrace it with a generous and good heart, and bear fruit through perseverance."(Luke 8: 4-15)

This parable has been the source of inspiration for some of the richest reflections on the dynamic power of God's word in the Sacred Tradition. We are both the soil and the seed. The Word, the Living Word, is sown within us and we must cultivate the ground of our "hearts", the center of our very identity, so that we can be transformed in the Lord and more fully and completely reflect His Image and likeness.

However, there is another aspect of the parable, the missionary response, which can best be seen within the context of other parables from the Master. We ourselves become seed, in His Holy Hands, and He now spreads us into the world. It is that world, which he created, that needs to be re-created again - in and through Him. We are members of the Body of Christ, the Church, and seeds of the eternal Kingdom. 

Another biblical image which helps us to comprehend this dynamic and missionary insight is found also contained in Matthew's Gospel: "Jesus said to his disciples: "You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden."

"Nor do they light a lamp and then put it under a bushel basket; it is set on a lampstand, where it gives light to all in the house. Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father." (Matt. 5: 13 - 16) The passage calls to mind the words of the Lord, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." (John 8:12)

We have been baptized into Christ and he now lives His life in us - and we live our lives in Him. This is meant to become a reality for us as we live in His Body, the Church, for the sake of the world. The Father still loves the world and still gives His Son to save it. (John 3: 16)  Now, that gift of His Son continues through you and me.

In Matthews Gospel Jesus uses other images to further communicate this vital message and missionary mandate to us: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the 'birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches. The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened." (Matt. 13: 31 - 33) 

We are light and leaven, salt and seed, in a world waiting to be born. We are spread in the fields of the world and called to fall to the ground and bear fruit.

All of the images concerning the spread of the kingdom used by Jesus in his parables are meant to bring home the new reality that comes from our discipleship. In the words of St. Jose Maria Escriva, "May Our Lord be able to use us so that, placed as we are at all the cross-roads of the world - and at the same time placed in God - we become salt, leaven and light. Yes, you are to be in God, to enlighten, to give flavor, to produce growth and new life. But don't forget that we are not the source of this light: we only reflect it. (St. Jose Maria Escriva, Friends of God, 250)

As Christians we are called to love the world as God loves the world. Because we now live in Jesus Christ, ...