Fr Paul reads the Gospel from Mark (4: 1-20) about the parable of the sower.

Fr Paul says, today, we ask ourselves what was Jesus’s original intention for this parable of the sower?  Was it a warning against different types of temptations for his followers? Or was he reflecting on his own mission? Was he reflecting that he had tried every kind of approach in proclaiming the Kingdom and that each approach was fruitless?

When Jesus speaks to his disciples, he initially quotes Isaiah and the purpose of doing this was probably to show that the failure of Israel to respond to the message of Jesus   was another fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah.

With today’s Gospel in mind, Fr Paul invites us to ask ourselves, ‘When have I failed to listen to God’s message? Do I allow time in my life to just stop and listen?’