Through the sacraments of the faith I am reborn by water and the Spirit into the life of Christ.  God’s life is rooted in the depth of my heart as a treasure hidden in a field; a seed of life, of knowledge and of love.  My ascetic efforts are aimed at ploughing and clearing the land so that the seed may grow unobstructed.  I remove the other plants and seeds in order that all energy in the soil may be available to nourish the one essential seed, and there be absorbed and transformed into it.  –‘The Wound of Love’ A. Carthusian Miscellany

“A sower went out to sow his seed.
And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path and was trampled,
and the birds of the sky ate it up.
Some seed fell on rocky ground, and when it grew,
it withered for lack of moisture.
Some seed fell among thorns,
and the thorns grew with it and choked it.
And some seed fell on good soil, and when it grew,
it produced fruit a hundredfold.”
After saying this, he called out,
“Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”

Gospel of Luke