Illustration: The Sower at Sunset by Van Gogh
LEO XIV GENERAL AUDIENCE
St. Peter’s Square – Wednesday, 21 May 2025
Cycle of Catechesis – Jubilee 2025. Jesus Christ our Hope. II. The life of Jesus. The parables 6. The sower.
Scripture Reading: Matthew (13:1-17)
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but never understand and you shall indeed see but never perceive.
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
“He spoke to them at length in parables” (Mt 13:3a)
Dear brothers and sisters,
I am pleased to welcome you to this, my first general audience.
Today I continue the cycle of Jubilee Catecheses, on the theme “Jesus Christ Our Hope”, initiated by Pope Francis.
Let us continue to meditate today on the parables of Jesus, which help us to regain hope, because they show us how God works in history.
Today I would like to reflect on a parable that is somewhat peculiar, because it is a kind of introduction to all the parables.
I refer to the parable of the sower (Mt 13:1-17 – above).
In a certain sense, in this account we can recognize Jesus’ way of communicating, which has much to teach us for the proclamation of the Gospel today.
Each parable tells a story that is taken from everyday life, but it wants to tell us something more, to point us to a deeper meaning.
The parable raises questions in us; it invites us not to stop at appearances.
Before the story that is told or the image that is presented to me, I can ask myself: where am I in this story? What does this image say about my life?
In fact, the term “parable” comes from the Greek verb paraballein, which means to throw in front of.
The parable throws in front of me a word that provokes me and makes me question myself.
The parable of the sower speaks precisely about the dynamism of the Word of God and the effects it produces.
In fact, every word of the Gospel is like a seed sown on the soil of our lives.
Jesus uses the image of the seed many times, with different meanings.
In chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel of the parable of the sower introduces a series of other short parables, some of which speak precisely of what happens on the ground: the wheat and the tares, the mustard seed, the treasure hidden in the field.
What, then, is this ground? It is our heart, but it is also the world, the community, the Church.
The Word of God makes every reality fruitful and provokes it.
At the beginning, we see Jesus leaving the house and gathering a large crowd around him (cf. Mt 13:1).
His word fascinates and intrigues.
Among the people there are obviously many different situations.
The word of Jesus is for everyone, but it works in each person in a different way.
This context allows us to understand better the meaning of the parable.
A rather unusual sower goes out to sow but does not care where the seed falls.
He throws the seed even where it is unlikely they will bear fruit: on the road, on the rocks, among the thorns. This attitude surprises the listener and induces him to ask: how come?
We are used to calculating things – and sometimes it is necessary – but this does not apply in love!
The way this “wasteful” sower throws the seed is an image of the way God loves us.
It is true that the destiny of the seed also depends on the way in which the earth receives it and on the situation in which it finds itself, but above all Jesus is telling us that God sows the seed of his Word on all kinds of soil, that is, in every one of our situations:
Sometimes we are more superficial and distracted,
Sometimes we let ourselves get carried away by enthusiasm,
Sometimes we are weighed down by the worries of life,
but there are also times when we are ready and welcoming.
God is confident and hopes that sooner or later the seed will blossom.
This is how he loves us: he does not wait for us to become the best soil, but he always generously gives us his word.
Perhaps by seeing that he trusts us, the desire to be better soil will be kindled in us.
This is the hope, founded on the rock of God’s generosity and mercy.
In speaking of the way in which the seed bears fruit, Jesus also speaks of his life.
Jesus is the Word, he is the seed. And the seed, in order to bear fruit, has to die.
Thus, this parable tells us that God is willing to “wither away” for us and that Jesus is willing to die to transform our life.
I am thinking of that beautiful painting by Van Gogh, The sower at Sunset.
That image of the sower in the blazing sun also speaks to me of the farmer’s toil.
And I notice that, behind the sower, Van Gogh has painted the ripe grain!.
It seems to me an image of hope: one way or another, the seed has borne fruit.
We do not know how, but it has.
At the center of the scene, however, is not the sower, who standing off the side, but the whole painting is dominated by the image of the sun, perhaps to remind us that it is God who moves history, even if he sometimes seems absent or distant.
It is the sun that warms the clods of earth and makes the seed ripen.
Dear brothers and sisters, in what situation of life does the Word of God reach us today?
Let us ask the Lord for the grace to always receive this seed, which is his Word.
And if we we find that we are not a fertile soil, let us not be discouraged, but let us ask him to work on us more to make us become a better terrain.
Summary of the Holy Father’s words:
Dear Brothers and Sisters: I am happy to be with you for this first General Audience of my Pontificate. Today, I would like to take up the series of catecheses begun by Pope Francis on the Jubilee theme of “Christ our Hope” and reflect on Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed.
We may be struck by the generosity, even recklessness, with which the sower sows the seed on all kinds of groundl, even the rocky terrain that seems the least promising.
Jesus explains that the seed is the Word of God, which is meant to take root in the hearts of all, no one excluded.
We who hear this parable, and apply it to our own lives, may well feel challenged to become a better and more receptive terrain for the work of his grace.
But the parable of the sower can also make us think of Jesus himself, who, in his death and resurrection, became the seed that fell to the ground and died to bring forth abundant fruit.
The image of the sower – we can think of the famous painting by Van Gogh – is thus one of hope in the promise of a coming harvest.
Today, and every day, let us ask the Lord to open our hearts to his saving Word and its power to transform and enrich our lives and the world in which we live.
