Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Matthew (13: 24-30) in which Jesus says, ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field but, while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds (darnell) all among the wheat’.

Fr Paul says at the heart of this parable is the contrast between the good seed sown by the farmer and the weeds sown by the enemy. This represents the coexistence of good and evil in the world, and the Church’s mission to proclaim the Gospel amidst the presence of sin and temptation.

The servants’ desire to immediately root out the weeds reflects a common human impulse to purify the world of evil through our own efforts. However, Jesus cautions against this, explaining that the wheat and weeds must be allowed to grow together until the final harvest at the end of the age.

This teaches an important lesson about patience, discernment, and trusting in God’s timing. The Church is not called to forcibly impose the Kingdom, but to sow the seed of the Gospel and allow it to take root and grow, even amidst the presence of evil.

Ultimately, at the final judgment, the Lord himself will separate the righteous from the wicked. Until then, the Church must persevere in its mission, confident that God’s Kingdom will triumph, even if the path is marked by a mixture of wheat and weeds.

Fr Paul says, this parable invites us to cultivate a spirit of hope, wisdom, and trust in God’s plan, as we work to spread the Good News in a world that is not yet fully redeemed. May we have the patience and discernment to allow the Kingdom to grow, secure in the knowledge that the final victory belongs to the Lord.