20 July 2014
Sixteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
In today’s Gospel, weeds have infested a man’s garden. That man states matter-of-factly, “An enemy has done this.” The gardener is not fooled; someone else has intentionally sown bad seed. St. Ignatius called the evil spirit “the enemy of our human nature.” Ignatius learned to recognize how the devil tried to tie him in knots, keeping him from who God called him to be. Can we do the same? Can we recognize the tricks of the devil that keep us from becoming who God has called us to be? So many times we get trapped in various forms of falsehood or lack of interior freedom. What is holding you captive today? Turn to God, the good Gardener of your soul. Tell him about the weeds in your life. Listen for what His Heart has to say about them. Ask for the strength that you need. Trust in His patience and his power to overcome the works of the enemy.