Opening Prayer – 15th Sunday of Ordinary Time
God of all creation;
Make us good rich soil for planting so your Word may settle in and grow.
May we find You in each experience even when we must face rocky ground or thorny bushes.
Help us reach and stretch each new day to put forth great fruit, worthy of the kingdom!

Journal/Reflection Questions
Isaiah 55:10-11
• What does this tell us about God’s Word? Explain how this works.
• What is the purpose of rain? How is it a metaphor for God’s grace?
Romans 8:18-23
• In child birth, good comes from suffering; are there other examples of good coming from suffering? Share.
• What is the importance of Christians knowing the message Saint Paul is leaving? How can you apply it to your life right now?
• Should pain and suffering be avoided? Is it even possible? What could come from avoiding pain?
Matthew 13:1-23
• Are there things you add to your live which choke or prick causing you not to grow? Are there rocks in your way which you aren’t sure how to get around? Where are the weeds in your life? How can you get rid of these obstacles or avoid them in your life?
• If your heart was a garden, what would it look like? What would be growing there? Consider the types of flowers, bushes or trees that would occupy your garden and why.
• Is God concerned about quality or quantity? What insight does this scripture give you?

General Questions for Journaling
• Have you ever contemplated the changing of the season? What never ceases to astonish you each time a new season passes into another?
• If God put so much thought into the changing of the seasons and perfected the dying and rising of each element of nature, why do you still doubt there is a plan or purpose for your life?
• Compare your life to soil. What would you be made of? Clay? Sand? Dry? Manure? With what do you fertilize?
• In society today, it is easy to get wrapped up in the “now” and at the end of the day we aren’t any closer to the goals God has put in front of you. Do you know the goals God has for your life? How do you cultivate those goals each day? Are you adding fertilizer to them?
• When was the last time you listened to your heart? What does it sound like? How do you know what your “heart’s desire is”?
• Is there something you are currently hoping for? Is this hope in line with your “heart’s desire”?

Closing Prayer
Leader: We are like seeds which struggle to burst open.
ALL: Lord, may we plant seeds of faith.
Leader: We are like budding sprouts who break through the soil.
ALL: Lord, may we sprout new growth and not be left in the dark.
Leader: We are like leaves covered with morning dew.
ALL: Lord, may we be refreshed by Your Word.
Leader: We are like flowers which bloom and fill the earth with beauty.
ALL: Lord, may our lives leave a beautiful aroma wherever You might lead us.

Challenge for the Week: Make time to search for a moment of beauty in nature for each of the four seasons, summer, fall, winter and spring. You can seek them on the internet, in magazines or books, or even in your own family photo albums. Spend time this week meditating on these four seasons; all very different but all very much the same. What speaks to you in each of these seasons? What emotions are evoked? Are there specific people you think of as you reflect on a specific season? What significance do the seasons have in your life? What can you do to make a habit of recognizing something of beauty in nature each day? Open your eyes!