Matthew 13:24-30

I am sure we all have asked the question, “If God is good, why is there evil”? Or perhaps even, “Why are there evil people in the Church”? Just look at the scandals every now and then. Or, “Why bother being good?”, when the lifestyles of evil people include nice cars, huge houses, beautiful clothes and the finest things in life.

The Gospel reminds us that in this life there are the wheat (trigo) and the weeds (damo). Good and evil are present in this life. 

1. The greatest battle is spiritual warfare. Let us remember that in this world there is the seen and the unseen. There is the material and the spiritual. We human beings are composed of body and soul. The body came from ashes and will return to ashes, but the soul is eternity. The question is, to whom does our soul belong to? We cannot have two masters.
   
2. The bible tells us that the devil is the prince of this world. Hence, it tempts us with what the world can offer. Even Jesus was tempted with the things of the world. One of the problems of material things is that they are only temporary. We came into this world with nothing and we are leaving this world with nothing. What profit does a person gain if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?
   
3. Think of life eternal. We live in a world that is not perfect. We get hurt, we get tempted, we fall in sin, we deal with people who you cannot imagine will do evil things, we get tired, we get confused, we get anxious and fearful, we make mistakes and we are broken. “Yet we are never alone in this life. I will never leave you nor abandon you.” We have scriptures, we have prayer, we have the Mass, we have fellow Christians; we have the sacraments and the sacramentals. God is always with us in the ups and downs of life.

Once there was a boy who was told by his father that in each person there are two wolves: One is called Evil: anger, jealousy, resentment, and a lack of forgiveness are its traits. The other is called Good: joy, peace, love, hope and generosity abound. “Which of the two wolves wins?” the boy asked. The father answered, “The one you feed.”