Episode Transcript
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When I was new here in Australia,
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I attended Mass in a newly built
church somewhere in Sydney.
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Everything about it seemed
designed to lift the heart:
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the architecture was award-winning,
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the music and choir were inspiring,
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and the congregation was prayerful.
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But then came the moment to kneel.
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My knees met plain, hard
wood—no cushion, no padding.
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And from that moment, my attention shifted.
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Through the Eucharistic Prayer until mass ended,
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I kept returning to one thought:
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these kneelers are so uncomfortable.
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After Mass, when friends asked what I thought
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of this church that we were
visiting for the first time,
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all I could talk about was the kneelers.
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Looking back, God had offered
me many graces that day,
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but at that moment, I wasn't ready to receive them.
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My heart was too distracted to receive the seed.
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The problem is not the seed but the soil.
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God’s Word is always powerful,
but worries, fears, frustrations,
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and lingering resentments, fatigue,
and judgments can act like thorns,
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preventing that Word from taking
root and bearing fruit in our lives.
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Yet the good news is that soil can be
cultivated, and hearts can be tilled.
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One practical step I might suggest
which you can apply throughout the year
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is to read the readings for the
coming Sunday before we come to Mass.
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In doing so, we allow God’s Word to
engage with our lives during the week.
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We come prepared to receive Him.
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Also, let us approach the Word of God
with humility, and listen willingly.
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In this way, we allow God to soften our hardened
hearts and clear away whatever chokes His word.
