Flowers, Weeds, Conversion

Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house.
His disciples approached him and said,
"Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
He said in reply, "He who sows good seed is the Son of Man,
the field is the world, the good seed the children of the Kingdom.
The weeds are the children of the Evil One,
and the enemy who sows them is the Devil.
The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire,
so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels,
and they will collect out of his Kingdom
all who cause others to sin and all evildoers.
They will throw them into the fiery furnace,
where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun
in the Kingdom of their Father.
Whoever has ears ought to hear."



Today is the day that the Church remembers one of her special saints, St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order.  Following are seven fun facts about Ignatius and they are courtesy of Loyola Press. 

1. He once allowed the donkey on which he was riding to determine whether he should follow and murder someone he thought had insulted the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Fortunately, the donkey chose the path that led away from the insulter.)
2. He thought that his leg had been set poorly after the cannonball incident and that, as a result, he wouldn’t look good in his courtier’s tights. So he had a doctor rebreak his leg and start over!
3. He may be the only canonized saint to have a notarized police record—for nighttime brawling with intent to inflict serious harm.
4. He was hauled before the Spanish Inquisition on a number of occasions.
5. At age 33, he joined a class of young children so he could learn Latin.
6. He sometimes cried with so much devotion at Mass that he couldn’t continue, and he feared he would lose his eyesight.
7. He penned over 6,800 letters in his lifetime, making him one of the most prolific letter writers of his time—or any time, for that matter.

Conversion, that is the turning around of one's life can take place in many different ways.  For St. Francis of Assisi, it was a talking crucifix that told him to rebuild the church for it was crumbling.  For St. Paul, it was being thrown from a horse. For Ignatius, it was being wounded by a cannonball. For each of us, it was most likely something less dramatic in appearance but no less dramatic in effect.  Through the conversion experience, you are changed, turned one hundred and eighty degrees around and the path you were once on is changed for another path.  Sometimes we are willing partners and are looking for this change, but, I believe that for most of us, conversion comes only after an internal war with one's self.  It may come hard, but for those who love God, a conversion will not only come, it will continue for the balance of your life on earth.  You can fight it and yes, you can prevail against conversion but this struggle will take until you draw your last breath on this earth and you will have lost the opportunity to taste heaven on earth. Our Gospel reading tells us as much.  At the end of time, the friends of the Lord will be gathered in one place and those that did not want His friendship will be gathered in another. The friends of the Lord will be led by Jesus into the ultimate happiness of heaven while those that have preferred their way and followed their wisdom will march off to an eternity filled with loneliness and pain. 

It is truly up to us and God will prompt us and remind us of His love but we make the ultimate decision to follow Him or not and out fate rests not in the Hands of God, for He has given us the power to love Him or not in total freedom.  That is why hell will be such a terrible place, there will be no God, no joy and every evil temperament will be allowed to express itself without restraint and there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 

Please pray for the poor souls in Purgatory.