Reading and meditation on the Word of God on the Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, July 12, 2026

Delivered by Martinus Ifan Fernanto and Stefanus Raynaldo Septywan from the Parish of Our Lady of Seven Sorrows in the Diocese of Bandung, Indonesia. Isaiah 55: 10-11; Rs psalm 65: 10abcd.10e-11.12-13.14; Romans 8: 18-23; Matthew 13: 1-9.DON'T LET THIS LIFE GO IN VAIN The theme for our meditation on this Fifteenth Sundayin Ordinary Time is: Don't Let this Life Go in Vain. There was an incident thatwas quite disturbing in a residential area of ​​the city. Many of the husbandsbegan to get used to gathering until midnight from one house to another.Usually they drank alcohol drinks, did gambling and making noisy there. Thissurely had caused much sorrow to their wives at homes and increased problems intheir respective homes. In one ocassion, those wives gathered in one of theirhouses to discuss the matter, then they decided to strike a protest. All theresidents supported them and together they went to where their husbandsgathered. They carried a banner with this expression: "Don't Let YourFamily Life Go in Vain". They together also shouted in one voice: "Myhusband, go home. Don't ruin your family." In responding to the demand ofthose wives, the local government deliberately disbanded the activity and wasprohibited from repeating it. God never plans our lives in vain. We are the ones whoalways make it useless or meaningless. Our weaknesses as human beings, coupledwith bad influences of the world, are always the endless threats that make ourpersonal or common life useless and meaningless. This means that we submitourselves to be controlled by our own weaknesses and evil influences around us. We can mention our human weaknesses such as laziness,reluctance, boredom, surrender and lack of confidence, indeed contribute amajor influence to let this life go in vain. If someone reaches a moment ofdeath, when he is only known by the people around as a lazy person, or atroublemaker, or a criminal and a burden for others, this is obviously a realwasting of life. If someone until the moment of death, could not solved theproblems that have tormented him physically and spiritually, this means that hereally experienced a problematic and useless life. Our today's sacred readings give us one importantpiece of advice, namely that our lives should not go vain, simply because ourattitudes are bad or we do not have a meaningful life. God wants us todiscipline ourselves in the way we live out our faith, that is, we should nottake it for granted and to underestimate His teachings and commandments. We must view it as a very important thing for us andwe take it seriously. Jesus uses the symbolical method to teach us, that wemust become the good soil for His word to grow and bear abundant fruit. Therain of His grace sent down to us on earth in order to grow our life of faithso that it can also bear abundant fruit. A life that goes in vain is anindication of the fragile and shallow faith. Let'spray. In the name of the Father ... O Jesus Christ, may Your Word proclaimedtoday to us flourish in our daily lives and at proper time bears fruit in loveand goodness. Our Father who art in heaven ... In the name of the Father ...