Today’s Gospel at Mass highlights the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the weeds and the wheat (from St. Matthew’s Gospel).

The mustard seed grows into a large plant, eventually. The landowner must wait for the weeds and the wheat to grow up together before the harvest.

There is a connecting theme among these parables, though their lessons are somewhat distinct. That common thread is TIME.

(I just read “Weeds Among the Wheat” by Thomas Green SJ, about Ignatian discernment. He explains how the referenced parable applies not only to the Church at large but to each individual Christian soul. We grow weeds among the wheat. Some weeds will remain until our death.)

In case parable, it takes time for the plants to grow. This leads me to one of my favorite concepts in the spiritual life, because it has helped me make sense of so much and has put so much into context. I call it “the natural metaphor.”

“The natural metaphor” is the basic idea that God designed the world such that physical phenomena can teach us about spiritual phenomena.

Example 1: a good parent’s love and devotion can teach us something about who God is and the relationship He wants with us.

Example 2, directly applicable to the theme of time: we as human beings develop slowly in a physical sense. We are born completely helpless, and remain that way for some years. Children grow and develop slowly in every sense: physically, emotionally, intellectually.

This truth about our physical development holds true for our spiritual development as well. Spiritual growth happens slowly.

We might experience a spiritual “growth spurt” or two–after a conversion experience, for instance, when some degree of spiritual growth may take place faster than normal.

But in general, growth in the spiritual life–in our virtues, in our capacity to love, in our self-control, in our humility–happens painfully slowly. It is no different than our physical growth.

The key is not be discouraged by a seemingly lack of progress. Just keep showing up! Show up to prayer daily. Keep asking God to work in you. Keep striving to learn more fully how to let Him work in you. Keep getting up after you fall, each and every time.

Our God works slowly. We grow slowly. If He is okay with that, we need to be okay with it, too.

After all, we have it on good authority that he who perseveres to the end will be saved.