Mark 4:1-20

Introductory Prayer:
Lord, I want to spend these moments close to you. I believe that you are here with me. Take over my life more and more and make it what it was meant to be. Lord, I put my trust in you.

Petition:
Jesus, make the soil of my heart open to your word, so that it will bear fruit for eternal life.

1. Beware of the Thieves:
What the Father has planted in our lives is good. Goodness can bear fruit. But Christ has shown us that there is someone who does not want us to bear fruit. The devil tries to take goodness from our lives through enticing us with evil, filling our hearts with selfishness, and making us insensitive to the movements of grace in our soul. We need to renounce Satan every day by fixing our will on the goodness of Christ. This is done through sincere prayer and generosity of spirit.

2. Dig Deep:
The strength of our resolve is tested by the difficulties we face. If we go deeper in our prayer each day and build up the habit of letting go of our own ego, we can face the bad times with peace and trust. When our spiritual roots are not deep, we find ourselves disoriented, even defeated by the tribulations that are part of an authentic Christian life. Christ teaches us to dig deep. With him as our friend, difficulties become a way to show our love and to do something that has eternal value. If I don't fight, how can I merit a crown of victory?

3. Fruit in Docility:
In order to bear fruit we must be docile to God's word. But being docile does not mean being passive. For a Christian, docility to Christ and the Holy Spirit means willingness to work and serve. We are followers of the One who came to serve. The Spirit that is self surrender moves us. To hear the Word of God and accept it means to make our lives an imitation of Christ's total self giving day in and day out. God will grant fruit to our lives if we are willing to be other Christs in the here and now.

Conversation with Christ:
Lord, thank you for showing me how to bear fruit in my life.
I want to imitate your self-surrender to the Father and to souls.
I know that this requires a constant effort to go deep in my
life and be docile to the Holy Spirit. Help me to live as a giver,
not a taker. Your love will always be there to accompany me.

Resolution:
Today I will offer up a small sacrifice to ask God for the grace of acquiring the virtue that I need the most.