“The seed is the word of God. And they by the way side are they that hear; then the devil cometh, and taketh the word out of their heart, lest believing they should be saved” (Luke 8: 11-12). How is this possible?
The biblical reading for Sexagesima Sunday brings before the eyes of our minds, each time, the well-known Parable of the Sower as it is narrated by the evangelist Luke (8:4-15). Also conveyed by the other two “synoptic” apostles, Matthew and Mark, it describes the work of sowing the land—an agricultural process used as a symbolic image for the mission of evangelization and the transmission of the Word of God.
Although there are many aspects worthy of our attention, this time, I was struck by the situation of the first seeds—those that “fell by the wayside” (Luke 8: 5). When asked by the apostles about the meaning of this parable, the Savior begins His allegorical interpretation precisely with this category of seeds:
“And they by the way side are they that hear; then the devil cometh, and taketh the word out of their heart, lest believing they should be saved” (Luke 8: 12).
Upon careful reflection, the theft committed by the devil seems strange. Although we do not doubt that the spirits of darkness do everything in their power to prevent the conversion of sinners (something we see more clearly than ever today), what surprises us is not their action—which is, after all, predictable. What seems at least odd is the apparent weakness of the sower—God.
When we think of real farmers, we know how much effort they put into fighting off birds and insects that threaten their crops. We would therefore expect God to do much more to ensure that not a single word of His Gospel is lost, wouldn’t we? So how is it possible that He allows the devil to steal the words of His Gospel from the hearts of those who have heard them? Is the devil’s power too great? Or, no matter how great it may be, isn’t God ultimately omnipotent and absolutely superior to the devil? How can something so precious be lost so easily—as if it were left at the mercy of the powers of darkness?
It is not God’s “weakness” that allows the devil to steal the good seeds of holy words, but our negligence. I would say that it is especially our negligence in persistently seeking divine Truth that leads to the hardening and indifference of the heart/mind toward the divine Revelation given to us through the Gospel.
Deceived Minds, Hardened Hearts
To find the answer to such questions, I investigated the interpretations of the sacred masters of biblical exegesis: the Church Fathers and Doctors. The first such author is Saint Cyril of Alexandria (c. 376–444), who offers us a complete explanation:
“As to the cause of the seed on the pathways being snatched away, we see in a moment that it is the hardness of the ground. A pathway always is hard and untilled, because it is exposed to every one’s feet, nor is any seed admitted into it, but lies rather upon the surface, ready for any birds that will to snatch it away. All those therefore, whose mind is hard and unyielding, and so to speak, pressed together, do not receive the divine seed: for the divine and sacred admonition finds no entrance into them, nor do they accept the words that would produce in them the fear of God, and by means of which they could bring forth as fruits the glories of virtue. They have made themselves a beaten and trampled pathway for unclean demons, yea, and for Satan himself, such as never can bear holy fruit. Let those therefore awake, whose heart is sterile and unfruitful: open your mind, receive the sacred seed, be like productive and well-tilled soil, bring forth unto God the fruits that will raise you to an incorruptible life: guard your mind, shut the entrance against the thief, drive away from your hearts the flocks of birds, in order that the seed may abide with you; that ye may be ground luxuriant in corn, and very fertile, and rich abundantly in bringing forth fruit.”[i]
The substantial text of Saint Cyril clarifies all the unknowns of the equation. First of all, he reveals the meaning of the seeds that fell by the wayside—it is our heart, our soul. If our hearts, that is, our minds, are filled with worldly things, and the fear of God and loving devotion to Him are absent, then we are dealing with soil that cannot receive the Word. The fault is ours, not God’s.
Saint Thomas Aquinas follows Saint Cyril’s interpretive line, showing that a path that anyone can walk on is “the heart which is exposed to any thought whatever.”[ii] What follows from this?
First, that it is not God’s “weakness” that allows the devil to steal the good seeds of holy words, but our negligence. I would say that it is especially our negligence in persistently seeking divine Truth that leads to the hardening and indifference of the heart/mind toward the divine Revelation given to us through the Gospel. Then, we understand that a “Praeparatio evangelica” (preparation for the Gospel) of the heart is necessary. How is this done? Saint Cyril tells us to wake up (from the sleep of sin) and guard our minds against wandering thoughts (which often come from the devil), cultivating only appropriate and worthy thoughts. Concretely, this can be achieved, for example, through good readings that encourage the practice of virtues, the avoidance of occasions of sin, and the rejection of vices.
Ingratitude—just like ignorance and indifference—leads to the hardening of the heart, which then becomes incapable of receiving the holy words of the Gospel.
Good Literature for Hearts
If we carefully reflect on the great masterpieces of world literature—from Homer’s Odyssey to Dante’s Divine Comedy, Cervantes’ Don Quixote, Manzoni’s The Betrothed, and Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (to name just few masterpieces)—we will see that all these works offer an excellent preparation of the heart for receiving the holy seeds. I would generalize by saying that anything good, beautiful, and true represents such a preparation of the heart. Especially high-quality poetry—starting with the psalms of King David—can be of great help in this regard.
Returning to the issue of the loss (or theft) of the holy words from our hearts/minds, one of the most valuable Byzantine theologians, Saint Symeon the New Theologian (949–1022), pointed out that such dangers concern even believers who attend church. Here are his warnings and advice:
“When you come out of the Church, do not begin to be distracted toward empty and useless matters, lest the devil come and find you occupied with them. It is like when a crow finds on the plain a grain of wheat, before it has been covered with earth, and picks it up and flies off. The devil removes the memory of these words of catechetical lectures from your hearts, and you find yourself empty and deprived of beneficial teaching.”[iii]
Have you noticed how easily we forget the holy words? Many times, at home, I try, together with my wife and children, to recall what we heard in the Sunday biblical reading and the sermon that followed. But just as often, we discover how difficult this is. Sometimes, we could hardly remember anything at all. Similarly, during our nightly Bible readings after praying the Holy Rosary, we repeatedly found that the next day, we struggled to remember what we had read.
To overcome this problem, we came up with a method: each of us has a small notebook in which, after reading the Holy Scriptures, we must write down a key word or a significant idea. The next evening, before the actual reading, each person reads aloud what they noted down. This is one of the best ways we have discovered to cultivate a good memory of sacred readings.
I would never stop encouraging myself—and you—to train our memory by memorizing Psalms or any Bible verses we find fitting. Persecuted and imprisoned—sometimes for many years—by communists in terrible prisons, many Catholics (including the legendary Romanian bishops, who were all imprisoned without exception) discovered the extraordinary value of the verses they had memorized. In thousands of hours of solitude, hunger, darkness, and cold, they spent their time pondering the holy words from every angle. This was the only way some of them survived. God’s words truly became nourishment for their souls…
Although God comes and speaks to hearts, they do not receive Him. Lack of gratitude, humility, and openness to revealed Truth—all these, instead of preparing the mind to receive the Word, actually lead to its closure.
The Art of Meditation and Our Gratitude to God
Beyond everything said by Saints Cyril and Thomas Aquinas, Saint Ephrem the Syrian (c.306–373) is another sacred author who draws our attention to a troubling aspect of our negligence that leads to the loss of holy words (easily stolen by demons). Here is his statement—a commentary on the seeds that fell by the wayside:
“This is an image of the ungrateful soul, like the one who received one talent despised the goodness of him who gave it. Because this ground was tardy in receiving its seed, it became a public highway for all evil.”[iv]
The ungrateful soul belongs to the one who does not learn to meditate on God’s blessings. Or, even worse, to the one who believes he has been wronged by God—especially because he feels that he is worse off than those around him, who seem wealthier, more beautiful, more intelligent, etc.
The main idea, however, is that ingratitude—just like ignorance and indifference—leads to the hardening of the heart, which then becomes incapable of receiving the holy words of the Gospel. Of course, those who allow their minds to be contaminated by worldly ideologies, ideas, and materialistic non- or anti-Christian trends cannot receive the teachings of the Gospel either.
All of this gives us a rather complete picture of the spiritual illnesses that prevent the reception of God’s Word—Jesus Christ. In fact, the Gospel of John testifies to this terrible reality in a few extraordinary words:
“He came unto his own, and his own received him not” (John 1:11).
This, ultimately, is the essence of the situation of the seeds in the Parable of the Sower that fall by the wayside: although God comes and speaks to hearts, they do not receive Him. Lack of gratitude, humility, and openness to revealed Truth—all these, instead of preparing the mind to receive the Word, actually lead to its closure.
This is what the biblical reading for Sexagesima Sunday invites us to reflect upon with the utmost seriousness. And not only to meditate on it but to decide what we must do to prepare our hearts—our minds—as best as possible to receive the holy words.
Sancta Maria, auxilium Christianorum, ora pro nobis!
[i] The entire homily can be read here: https://www.tertullian.org/fathers/cyril_on_luke_04_sermons_39_46.htm#SERMON%20XLI [Accessed: 24 February 2025].
[ii] See the commentary on the Gospel after Matthew of Saint Thomas Aquinas that can be read here: https://aquinas.cc/la/en/~Matt.C13.L1.n1086.2 [Accessed: 24 February 2025].
[iii] Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament III, Luke, Edited by Arthur A. Just Jr., InterVarsity Press, 2003, p. 133.
[iv] Ibidem.
