Rely not upon the "explanation" of the parable of the weeds in the wheat. Let the parable itself carry you to a consideration of the patience of God.

Saturday, July 12, 2008, at the Catholic Pastoral Center, Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

You need an explanation of the parables of Jesus ... if you want to make them safe and domesticated and toothless. Jesus probably did not provide explanations; somebody in the early Church considered this necessary. Jesus intended his parables to have teeth -- to keep gnawing at us as we consider how we enter into the kingdom of God.

Saturday, July 12, 2008, at the Catholic Pastoral Center, Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

Saturday, July 12, 2008, at the Catholic Pastoral Center, Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

Saturday, July 12, 2008, at the Catholic Pastoral Center, Diocese of Springfield in Illinois.

You need to decide whether the homilist is conscious. After a week spent at Catholic HEART Workcamp, I was suffering from severe sleep deprivation. I seem to recall talking about CREATURELINESS. Believe me, I was feeling like a creature, not a creator.