Mark 4:26-34

Introductory Prayer:
Lord, I come into your presence with openness of heart. I know that you want to plant your seed in me and help it to bear fruit. I trust that you will pour out your mercy on me as I spend this time with you. I want to love you more and become a better instrument of your love.

Petition:
Lord, help me contemplate the action of your grace upon the world and fully cooperate with you.

1. Steady Growth:
Jesus reminds me that his grace is working in the world. His message carries an interior dynamism that affects souls and brings about change in them. I think of someone who has surprised me by a sudden conversion or steady growth in Christian living. I see many people who are working on projects of evangelization or are full of Christian charity. I see many other people who are trying in their secular occupations to do their part to make this world better. I contemplate the many families that are striving to be places of love in which each person is valued as a unique gift. This is the seed of the Gospel that grows silently without our knowing how.

2. When the Grain Is Ripe:
God, in his mercy, often adds years to our life so that we can learn wisdom and produce in our actions fruit that is worthy of eternity. How much do I value the opportunities I have each day to do simple acts of charity or leave messages that have a beneficial effect on others? How often do I pray for others? Each day I should be attentive to the small and big opportunities the Lord gives me to help establish his kingdom more deeply in my soul and in the souls of others.

3. Disproportionate Strength:
Like the image of the mustard tree in the parable, Christ's grace sustains many men and women throughout the world. People discover in Christ's friendship the true home their hearts seek and the communion with all men they intuitively desire. What a great gift we have in the Church! Let us try to make it a true home for all people. Let us partake deeply of its teachings and its grace and become more deeply a gift for others. The strength of love sustains us.

Conversation with Christ:
Lord, thank you for the workings of your grace in so
many souls. I want to be united with your grace throughout
this day and throughout my life. Help me to use this day in
such a way that I will be planting your love around me.

Resolution:
Today I will take time to say a special prayer or make a special sacrifice for the conversion of sinners.