Seeds and Soil

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:
When anyone hears the message about the kingdom 
and does not understand it,
the evil one comes
and snatches away what was sown in his heart.
This is the seed sown along the path.

The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places
is the man who hears the Word
and at one receives it with joy.
But since he has no root,
he lasts only a short time.
When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word,
he quickly falls away.

The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns
is the man who hears the Word,
but the worries of this life
and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it,
making it unfruitful.

But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil
is the man who hears the Word and understands it.
He produces a crop,
yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times
what was sown."

(Matthew 13:16-23)