Does mankind know how a seed grows? Yes, scientifically, we get it. Any kid who’s tucked a seed down into dirt in a paper cup in time for a Mother’s Day marigold or put a bean seed on a damp paper towel and then tucked it in a zippered storage bag can talk about how that seed grows. That kid watches what time, patience, and a daily spritz of water can do and one day, BOOM, the seed has burst, the first root has emerged, and a tiny delicate shoot rises toward the sun.
Scientists can explain the same process in detail with fancy words like germination, seed coat, endosperm, and embryo, but the story is the same. First it is a seed, and then it is a plant. So yes, we know. But do we really know?
How does it start? Why? What is that spark that puts the whole thing in motion? It is, of course, the Creator himself still creating with every tiny seed. Yes, intellectually we know that given the right conditions — healthy soil, adequate water, proper temperature, and sunlight — a seed will grow. But only in faith can we explain “how.”
In today’s Gospel, Jesus uses the parable of the sower and the seed to explain the Kingdom of God. It is like the tiny mustard seed, the smallest of all the seeds, “But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
We have been given these humble seeds of faith. We cannot leave them sitting in a dark drawer or under an empty pot on the workbench. Instead, we are called, like the man in Jesus’ parable, to scatter the seeds, to lovingly plant them wherever we are. We plant the seeds of the Kingdom among those around us by living in His truth and His love. Then the God of all creation urges those tiny seeds to grow up into the greatest faith of all. We know not how, but we trust Him who does.
¿Sabe la humanidad cómo crece una semilla? Sí, científicamente lo entendemos. Cualquier niño que haya metido una semilla en la tierra en un vaso de papel a tiempo para crecer una caléndula para el Día de la Madre o haya puesto una semilla de frijol en una toalla de papel húmeda y luego la haya guardado en una bolsa de plástico con cierre puede hablar de cómo crece esa semilla. Ese niño observa lo que el tiempo, la paciencia y un chorro de agua diario pueden hacer y un día, ¡BUM!, la semilla ha estallado, ha surgido la primera raíz y un pequeño y delicado brote se eleva hacia el sol.
Los científicos pueden explicar el mismo proceso en detalle con palabras elegantes como germinación, cubierta de la semilla, endospermo y embrión, pero es la misma historia. Primero es una semilla y luego es una planta. Así que sí, lo sabemos. Pero, ¿lo sabemos realmente?
¿Cómo comienza? ¿Por qué? ¿Cuál es esa chispa que pone todo en movimiento? Es, por supuesto, el Creador mismo que sigue creando con cada pequeña semilla. Sí, intelectualmente sabemos que si se dan las condiciones adecuadas (tierra sana, agua suficiente, temperatura apropiada y luz del sol), una semilla crecerá. Pero solo con fe podemos explicar “cómo”.
En el Evangelio de hoy, Jesús utiliza la parábola del sembrador y la semilla para explicar el Reino de Dios. Es como la pequeña semilla de mostaza, la más pequeña de todas las semillas: “pero una vez sembrada, crece y se convierte en el mayor de los arbustos y echa ramas tan grandes, que los pájaros pueden anidar a su sombra”.
Se nos han dado estas humildes semillas de fe. No podemos dejarlas en un cajón oscuro o debajo de una maceta vacía en la mesa de trabajo. En cambio, estamos llamados, como el hombre en la parábola de Jesús, a esparcir las semillas, a plantarlas con amor dondequiera que estemos. Plantamos las semillas del Reino entre quienes nos rodean viviendo en Su verdad y Su amor. Luego, el Dios de toda la creación insta a esas pequeñas semillas a crecer hasta convertirse en la mayor fe de todas. No sabemos cómo, pero confiamos en Aquel que sí lo sabe.
Pamela Kavanaugh is a grateful wife, mother, and grandmother who has dedicated her professional life to Catholic education. Though she has done her very best to teach her students well in the subjects of language and religion, she knows that she has learned more than she has taught. She lives, teaches, and writes in southwest suburban Chicago.
Feature Image Credit: Nothing Ahead, www.pexels.com/photo/top-view-photo-of-potted-plants-7718483/
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Tami Urcia is a midwestern gal from a large Catholic family. As a young adulthood she was a missionary in Mexico, where she studied theology and philosophy. After returning stateside bilingual, she gained a variety of work experience, traveled extensively and finished her Bachelor’s Degree at Brescia University. She loves organizing and simplifying things, watching her children play sports, deep conversations with close family and friends and finding unique ways to brighten others’ day with Christ’s love. She works full time at Diocesan in the Software Department and manages the Inspiration Daily reflections. She is also a guest blogger on 
Deacon Dan Schneider is a retired general manager of industrial distributors. He and his wife Vicki have been married for over 55 years. They are the parents of eight children and thirty-one grandchildren. He has a degree in Family Life Education from Spring Arbor University. He was ordained a Permanent Deacon in 2002. He has a passion for working with engaged and married couples and his main ministry has been preparing couples for marriage.
Ben Hooper is originally from Maryland, having been adopted from Korea and growing up in the Catholic faith. He went to Franciscan University to dive deeper into his faith and eventually graduated with a degree in Business Management. He loves musical theater, sports, spending time with his fiancé Lily and their dog Kolbe.
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Hailing from Nashville, Catherine is a graduate of Christendom College with a lifelong passion for words. Her love of writing and her Catholic Faith continue to shape her as a freelance editor, copywriter, and (aspiring) novelist, where she pursues her passions for the love and greater glory of God.
Merridith Frediani loves words and is delighted by good sentences. She also loves Lake Michigan, dahlias, the first sip of hot coffee in the morning, millennials, and playing Sheepshead with her husband and three kids. She writes for Catholic Mom, Diocesan.com, and her local Catholic Herald. Her first book Draw Close to Jesus: A Woman’s Guide to Adoration is available at Our Sunday Visitor and Amazon. You can learn more at 
Colleen Orchanian is a podcaster, blogger, and spiritual director who desires to help others have a more profound encounter with God. She is the author of three books: Nearer My God to Thee, Times of Grace, and Lingering with God. Her podcast is Food for Thought (Spiritually Speaking). You can learn more at 
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