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Msgr. Roger J. Landry
National Director, The Pontifical Mission Societies
Daily Reflection for July12, 2026
Here is the video of today’s reflection.
The YouTube generated transcript for today’s reflection is:
I’m Monsignor Roger Landry, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States. It’s Sunday, July 12th, the 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time, and I’m coming to you from Mundelein Seminary in Chicago. You can see the beautiful Lord’s Grotto over my left shoulder. Today in the Gospel, Jesus gives us one of his most famous parables. It explains so much, especially for those of us who are concerned about the mission. It is all about the transmission of the faith. He says, “A sower went out to sow.” And in the ancient world, unlike gardeners today or farmers today who work the soil before they scatter, in the ancient world they scattered first, and then they went to overturn the soil. And he said that there were four types of soil in which that seed landed. The first he said was hardened soil by the wayside. They would have long plots with dirt path in between. That was the hardened soil. When it landed there, it was very difficult to overturn, and before even the farmer could get there, the birds of the air would come and eat the seed. Talks about stubborn souls who, no matter how many times they hear the Gospel, are not going to respond. Not the seed’s fault. Second type of soil he said was rocky soil. When we think about rocky soil, we think about a little garden in the backyard, perhaps, that has pebbles. When Jesus was using it, he was talking about the soil that stretched throughout the Holy Land, in which about 3 to 5 in underneath the topsoil, you’d find thick layers of limestone. And so, the roots would go down, and the water would be kept above that that limestone for a little while, and it would immediately sprout on up. But then, when the heat came on up, as the Middle Eastern Middle Eastern sun could scorch anything that was growing, it would wither and die. He said, “These were the superficial people who would immediately respond with joy to the word, but that they wouldn’t have roots. They’re like so many today who say, ‘Loved listening to you, Father,’ but 10 minutes later, you ask, ‘Do you remember anything that I said?’ and it’s just like, ‘No.’ They don’t remember what the first reading was at Mass. They don’t remember what the responsorial psalm that they said over again. They don’t remember the second reading, or sometimes they even forget the gospel. And they’re just listening some- times to just get that emotional reaction rather than to have it change their life. There are many people with this soil sample today who are dominated by whether they like something or dislike it, rather than by what whether it’s true. The third type of soil soil Jesus says is among thorns. The soil is itself good, but the thorn bushes take the nutrients of the soil, such that the seed that has been planted doesn’t really get those same nutrients to be able to grow, doesn’t get that same water. Now, what would these thorns be? It would be easy if we just labeled them sins. But Jesus didn’t. He said, “Worldly cares and anxiety, lure of riches, and the various preoccupations we have.” If we’ve got other desires or other worries when we’re listening to the word of God, we’re not going to pay attention. If somebody we love is preparing to die today, it’s going to be very hard for us to pay attention to what the priest or the deacon preaches. Or if all we’re concerned about is who’s going to win the World Cup, again, we’re going to miss it. Jesus wants us to have good, rich, and fruitful soil, which bears fruit 30 or 60 or 100-fold. When we hear the gospel, it’s supposed to change our lives 30, 60, or 100 ways. That’s the type of soil Our Lady had in the grotto behind. When she heard the word, it was able to take on her flesh, and God was able to dwell among us. She wanted her whole life, as she said to the angel, to develop according to God’s word. Through our Lady’s intercession, let’s pray for that type of soil for us, for all missionaries, and for all the seminarians here at Mundelein. God bless you.
The Gospel reading on which the reflection was based on:
On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.
Such large crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat down,
and the whole crowd stood along the shore.
And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:
“A sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path,
and birds came and ate it up.
Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil.
It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep,
and when the sun rose it was scorched,
and it withered for lack of roots.
Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit,
a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.
Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The disciples approached him and said,
“Why do you speak to them in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted,
and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
“Hear then the parable of the sower.
The seed sown on the path is the one
who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it,
and the evil one comes and steals away
what was sown in his heart.
The seed sown on rocky ground
is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy.
But he has no root and lasts only for a time.
When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word,
he immediately falls away.
The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word,
but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word
and it bears no fruit.
But the seed sown on rich soil
is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
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