What is truly astonishing is that the vast majority of people do not fight to “be” someone, but to “have” something; they are not passionate about filling their souls, but about occupying a chair; they do not ask what they have inside, but what they are going to wear outside. Perhaps this is the reason why there are so many puppets in the world and so few, so very few people. Yes, we must love the struggle. Believe in something very serious. Fight for it. Keep fighting when we get tired. Keep going when we get tired of walking.

Jesus explains to us in today’s gospel passage that the life of the Christian and that of every man is a struggle. We must overcome the wind, the hardness of stones, the thorns… Those who have had the fortune to work in the fields understand perfectly the parable of the sower. And the fact is that it is not enough to throw the seed to harvest abundant fruits. You have to choose the terrain. You have to prepare the soil. You have to take care of the seed and throw it on time. You have to water, remove weeds and, above all, you have to reap at the right moment. It implies struggle. Work. Effort. It is said that: “The kingdom of heaven belongs to the persistent.” It’s a law of life. Sometimes it’s hard. What’s important is not so much what we do, but the love with which we act. When there is love, God blesses and rewards us, even if it often doesn’t seem so at first glance. To always be in the “struggle” we have an excellent means: prayer. Jesus used it and it always worked for him.

When Argentine player from Udinese and the Argentina national team, Abel Eduardo Balbo, was asked what his experience of prayer was, he answered: “Prayer is fundamental in my life. I pray to God every day, I have done so since I was a child. My mother taught me this. I read the Bible daily and I realize how ridiculous football problems are compared to the true reality of men. For me it is very important to pray daily: if one wants to, one always finds time to dedicate exclusively to God because nothing and no one is more important than Him”.

May we know how to use prayer to remain in the “struggle” overcoming those daily “problems” out of love for God and our brothers.

These are words from Xavier Caballero, who was in charge of the reflection on today’s gospel: Matthew 13:18-23.