The parable of 'the sower and his seed' is about four different kinds of ground - the ground at the edge of the path, the rocky ground with a thin layer of soil, the soil where thorns also grow, and the deep soil which receives the seed well and allows it to take root and then produce a crop.

The sower is scattering the seed everywhere - there's no scarcity of it. The seed is God's Word. To hear the word of the Lord's loving presence, I need to be quiet enough in myself to notice it, and to be unselfish enough to see beyond myself to the Other. The seed is plentiful; the Lord is scattering it in my direction every day. What kind of ground am I? Am I all four kinds of ground during my day, or during my week?

What is God's Word to me? My connectedness with God in prayer is God's Word to me. Here are some examples. God speaks His Word of love in the gift of health I have from Him; His Word sometimes comes in the form of an invitation to me to be patient: in traffic, with other people's shortcomings, with myself ... I hear His Word when some word or phrase of Scripture lights up for me; God speaks His Word when He gives me the gift of sleep. Above all, the Lord gives Himself to me in the Eucharist.