Dear parishioners,
One of the blessings of my recent trip to Vietnam was the opportunity to return to the village where my family comes from. Walking once again through the rice fields, I was reminded that farmers possess a wisdom that many of us have forgotten. They know that growth cannot be rushed. A field is never perfect. Alongside the healthy stalks there are always weeds, patches of dry ground, and signs of imperfection. Yet no experienced farmer spends every day worrying about the weeds. Instead, he patiently tends the crop, trusting that, in time, the grain will mature and the harvest will come.
That image stayed with me because it is exactly the lesson Jesus teaches us in this Sunday’s Gospel. When the servants discover weeds growing among the wheat, they immediately want to remove them. It seems like the obvious solution. Yet the master tells them to wait. Pulling up the weeds too soon may also uproot the wheat. Sometimes patience is wiser than perfectionism.
Isn’t that true of our own lives? We are often painfully aware of the weeds within ourselves—our faults, our failures, our bad habits, our unanswered prayers. Sometimes we become discouraged because we see what still needs to change instead of what God has already begun to accomplish. We can also become impatient with others, too quickly defining people by their weaknesses instead of recognizing that God’s grace is still at work within them.
The Book of Wisdom reminds us that God Himself does not treat us that way. Although He is all-powerful, He governs with mercy and patience (cf. Wisdom 12:13, 16-19). His strength is revealed not by severity but by compassion. He never gives up on us because He always sees more in us than we are able to see in ourselves. He never stops believing that a sinner can become a saint.
Saint Paul gives us another beautiful reassurance: “The Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness” (Romans 8:26-27). Even when we feel we are failing, even when we do not know how to pray, God has not abandoned us. The Holy Spirit is already at work within us, gently leading us toward the person He created us to become. Our weaknesses are never the final chapter of our story because God’s grace is always at work beneath the surface.
Jesus then offers two small parables that fill us with hope. A tiny mustard seed becomes a great tree. A little yeast transforms an entire batch of dough. The Kingdom of God usually grows quietly, almost unnoticed. Most of the good we do each day seems small: a kind word, a patient response, a visit to someone who is lonely, a prayer offered for a loved one, a child taught to make the Sign of the Cross, or a simple act of forgiveness. None of these may seem extraordinary. Yet in God’s hands, they can bear fruit far beyond anything we will ever see.
That is a message our world needs to hear. We live in a culture that celebrates immediate results and visible success. God, however, is never rushed. He works patiently, quietly, and faithfully. He asks only that we continue planting good seed and trust Him with the harvest.
As your pastor, I thank God every day for the countless mustard seeds I witness in our parish. They are found in the volunteer who quietly gives an hour of service, the parishioner who faithfully attends daily Mass, the parent who teaches a child to pray, the young person who chooses virtue over popularity, the family that welcomes a neighbor in need, and the many unseen acts of charity that no one applauds except God. Together, these hidden acts of goodness are building the Kingdom of God in our parish.
May we never become discouraged by the weeds we encounter, whether in ourselves, in others, or in the world around us. Instead, let us remain patient, continue doing the little good that God places before us each day, and trust that, in His time, He will bring forth a harvest more abundant than we could ever have imagined.
May Our Lady of Mount Carmel teach us to trust as she did, believing that even when God’s work seems hidden, He is quietly bringing forth a harvest that will one day fill His Kingdom.
Peace in Christ,
Msgr. “John” Cuong M. Pham