Around the time that the gold rushes ended in the nineteenth-century West, a curious phenomenon arose in New England known as money diggers. These were men who roamed the countryside with shovels, divining rods, and superstitious hope, convinced that treasure lay buried beneath their feet. Surely there must be gold under our feet. But there was not. The craze of these wild goose chases caused many to lose farms, families, and sanity.

Happy Sunday!

This weekend we hear the parable of the sower who abundantly sows seed on the path, on rocky soil, amongst thorns, and on rich soil. As with most parables we can unpack them from many different directions. This parable invites us to consider the type of soil we are that receives the seed, that is, the word of God. However, we don't just stop there. We also ask ourselves about the sower himself, who is God.

Happy Sunday! I hope and pray everyone has had a good July 4th weekend! This weekend we are welcoming Fr. Jeff Pooley, our new parochial vicar. He'll be getting settled in over the next couple of weeks, and then I'll be away on vacation. He'll do a great job while I'm gone! I will be traveling the last two weeks of July for my 10-year reunion with my classmates from seminary and then heading to Colorado. I'll be back on August 1.