Today’s gospel reflects a reality that often is not preached about in today’s world. Let’s take a closer look.
We see the seed representing four types of response to the seed of faith. The middle two are common, either someone expects more from the faith and quits quickly when their embracing of Catholicism does not match their expectations. They expect less problems and more comforts and leave the faith when this does not match those expectations. So in the middle two scenarios we see expectations that are not met and the faith is quickly dismissed.

This leaves first and the last scenarios and this is what we will look at more closely.

In the last scenario the seed falls on good ground and yields great fruit. However, what is good ground, usually it is the dirtiest of dirt. It is loaded with fertilizer and the best fertilizer is manure. So what is the fertile ground, when one gives him/herself completely over to service to Christ and discovers, as the Bible teaches, the crucible of humiliation. Yet, embraces it and grows in holiness and fruitfulness.

This leaves the first scenario and this is the one we need to look at the most. It is the scenario that is least appreciated today. The working of the Devil.

Father Rufus Pereira, when he preached at Canção Nova once talked about an audience that Pope Paul VI gave in the early 1970s. In it, the pontiff warned of the need to protect the Church against the forces of evil. He warned that this was not naiveté that in reality the forces of evil were quite present and we needed to be aware of this
This is an important lesson for every parish.

In an earlier time of great persecution here in the Archdiocese of Boston, I learned a powerful lesson. Jesus gave everything He had that all would be saved. The devil will give everything he has that all will be lost. The difference is that the devil cannot give his life, where Jesus could and did. Never forget that the devil is deeply interested in your loss of salvation and final damnation. This means that the devil will do all he can to thwart your gift of salvation. Would this mean that the devil is alive in your parish. Actually, I hope so, God forbid your parish is so lost that the devil does not consider it a threat to your salvation. This means however, that chances are you can expect that the devil is alive in every good Catholic institution, including parishes and institutions. Why, he clearly wants your damnation.

This is the reason whyI do not like exorcism movies, for it gives the sense that if you are looking for the devil, you will find him in demoniacs. Not true, the devil can be found in many places, but acting subtly and not being obvious as you would see in a possession. He is working through people to bring the parish down and reduce its effectiveness.

Fr Jose Fortea, another of the world’s foremost exorcists explained in a conference here in the Archdiocese of Boston, that one simply needs to read the Bible to see the tactics of the devil and the solution to his work.
The greatest tactics of the devil are based in lies. If you look through the Bible you will see all the instances the devil uses lies to accomplish his work. He does the same in parishes. Be wary of those who spread lies to bring down a parish or the church. They may not be aware of this but they are channels for evil. Why? Their lies are expressions of their desires which are also rooted in demonic, demanding not God’s will be done but theirs. So they spread lies and other destructive work for they want their parish, church, world, their way and will destroy many in the process. They are channels of evil.

How do we fight against this? We seek to know the truth and speak only the truth and we seek to do the will of God.

A rumor is often spread in a parish about a parish closing, don’t believe it, unless you hear of it from the right source. It may be a lie rooted in someone’s desire to change the dynamic of the parish or to destroy the parish, if they cannot make it the way they want it.

There are other ways that the devil works in a parish, deeply trying to destroy its mission. It may use people who take upon power that is not theirs and intimidate others trying to squelch their zeal and holiness. They may seek to discourage others and may even appear to be holy people. However, trust in God and stay close to the sacraments. Eventually, the light will shine into the darkness and those who seek to know God’s will soon hear God’s message through the darkness. However, others less educated in the faith will soon fall away.

Here in the United States many of the immigrant Catholics learned that even though they may have greater zeal for the faith than those born here, if the North Americans do not practice their faith, the immigrant children will not. Then, and this is a message also for those immigrant families who read this blog, evangelizing the North Americans is essential, for here in the United States each one has the devil’s target on his or her back. If the devil can silence the North American community, he can silence the immigrant communities too,

Do not be so naive as to believe the devil does not exist or that he is not active in our world and even our parishes. This does not mean we become afraid of the devil. It means rather, the more he seeks to destroy a parish, the closer to God the parish is and so we must build parishes that practice their faith as much as one that the devil despises, for then we are bearing good fruit for Christ.

The parishes must be prayerful and alive rooted in Christ and bring others to know Him.

Fr Robert J Carr