🌿”A Single Seed”🌿

In biology, we learned that a single seed— a plant embryo —can take hundreds and even thousands of years to germinate, remaining in its dormant state and surviving off its own internal food supply, or endosperm. In life, sometimes when we say a prayer or make a sacrifice of love, we may wonder whether it has any real and lasting impact in the world…

Yet God, being all-knowing and all-loving, and indeed outside the parameters of time and space, can order His angels and saints to collect these selfless, sacrificial acts of ours and await the precious, perfect moment when a soul who needs them most will be most open to receiving their efforts and effects. 

For some, the conditions for their true conversion of heart might be a certain tragedy or failure in their life, such as loss or addition. For others, it may be a victory or blessing, such as holding their firstborn child or finally finding a lifelong prayer answered. But regardless, no prayer, no sacrifice, no labor of love of ours, no matter how small or slight, is never lost! Our Lord eagerly awaits, eternally saves, and eventually uses each and every one. 

Like a single seed that can someday become a tall tree and bear the most abundant, delicious fruit for years and even centuries to come, we truly will only know what difference we made in this world, in this life, until the next world, the next life. But until then, we must truly strive, like the generous sower, to keep planting seeds of love, all while staying rooted in the good soil of trust, having the faith of a mustard seed to be able to move mulberry trees, and indeed, mountains! Though the heavenly workers may be few and earthly rewards, far between, the harvest will be abundant in the Kingdom of God for all, and indeed, for all eternity! 

So if you have yet to see or feel the fruits of joy and peace of your own prayers and sacrifices, don’t get down or give up! Like Our Mother and Queen, whom we celebrate today, on this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, never, ever stop loving and listening, giving and forgiving, believing in the Good and, indeed being Goodness Itself, and soon, very soon, you too will see the astonishingly amazing things God is doing for your own soul, as well as those of your friends and family, throughout all of the universe and for all of history, in and through your simple, subtle “yes” answers to Him, again and again! 

For as St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta once famous put it, “The fruit of silence is prayer; the fruit of prayer is faith; the fruit of faith is love; the fruit of love is service; and the fruit of service is peace.”And in the words of God the Father Himself recently revealed to a modern—day visionary:

“Children, do not allow the spirit of discouragement to overshadow your prayers. Be united – good against evil. Victory is still within your grasp if you continue to pray. satan’s real victory is in stopping your prayers and aborting your faith in prayer. Every ‘Hail Mary’ makes a difference and weakens satan. He does not want you to comprehend this. 

This is why I tell you, as long as you pray, you are chipping away at Satan’s overall scheme of things and winning many small victories. Often you do not see the effects your prayers have upon evil efforts. If you pray your whole life and save just one soul, your life is victorious. However, I tell you, many rosaries save many souls – souls you will not meet until the next life.”