Holy Martyr Hyacinth.
Romans 16:17-24; Matthew 13:11-23.
Read Matthew 13:11-23
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
Our calling in life is to bear good fruit from the seed that has been planted in our hearts, the seed that is the word of God.
The word of God, which is love and everything that love encompasses, needs to be nurtured.
A plant, such as a tomato, needs water, sun, and good nutrients in order to produce plentiful harvest.
Even more so, the seed, the loving word of God, is in need of its certain spiritual nutrients, such as sincere and truthful prayer accompanied by good works, so that our hearts may become like that rich soil that makes the seed grow and bear spiritual fruits and yield a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Ignoring the seed that we carry in our hearts, keeping it idle, endangers the soul and the soul’s inheritance of the kingdom of heaven.
The prayer of St. Ephrem the Syrian comes to mind, through which we ask our Lord Jesus Christ to remove from us various vices, in this case, works of the flesh as listed by St. Paul in his letter to Galatians: immorality, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hatreds, rivalry, jealousy, outbursts of fury, acts of selfishness, dissensions, factions, occasions of envy, drinking bouts, orgies, and the like (5:19-21).
And just like in the second part of the prayer, we ask God to bestow on us the fruits of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Gal 5:22-23).
Nevertheless, it is important to always see and acknowledge our own sinfulness first and foremost, for “if we acknowledge our sins, He [God] is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing” (1 Jn 1:9).