On Being Seed Planters

The Mustard Seed by Nelly Bube

God can and does do amazing things with just the tiniest seeds of faith. The people of Jesus' time were familiar with mustard seeds and their tiny size, so this parable's message, if their hearts were open to it, was quite clear.
In Jesus' parable, He referred to the large plant the seed would become when nurtured, and all that the plant would provide~ shade to rest under, a place for birds to nest.
Today, we don't really deal with this particular plant, but we are familiar with what comes of grinding up that particular seed; most of us have a jar of it in our refrigerators. That end product has some potent flavor to it.
OK, so enough with the talk of plants and condiments. My point to all this is that when the littlest bit of faith is present in a soul, when that seed is ripe and ready, God can use it to provide for His Kingdom here on earth, and add flavor some flavor to it as well.
We are His servants, we do not change hearts, but God does and at times He puts a few seeds in our hands to plant in souls that come our way.
In my own case, it was my friend who wrote to me telling me to get a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and a Bible. If you look at your own life and trace back to where your faith began or as in my case:"re~began", I am sure you recognize when the seed of faith was planted, and perhaps who God used to plant it.
This can be seen in the lives of the saints as well. Here are just a few examples...
For St Augustine, it was the constant prayer of his mother, Scripture and St Ambrose who planted the seeds. In the life of St Ignatius of Loyola, his sister was the seed planter. She left him some spiritual reading and books about the lives of the saints while he was confined to his bed after a battle injury. St Clare saw the powerful example of St Francis of Assisi and left her noble life to follow him. I could go on, but you get the picture. In turn these saints went on to plant the seeds that God entrusted to them; their lives continue to do so down through the ages.
God has given us a handful of seeds to plant too. It could be through something we say or write. Perhaps the most powerful seeds are the examples we set by living our Christian lives. This side of heaven we may never be witness to what became of those seeds; some take years to begin growing. We just need to do some planting, and leave the rest to God who will water them and cultivate them in His good and perfect time.
So go ahead and tear of a shoot from your topmost branches of faith, and plant that tender shoot where God tells you to. (see Ezekiel 17:22~24)


A happy and blessed Father's Day to all the Dad's who visit here today.