The Trouble With Weeds

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying: “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest; then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’” Mtt. 13:24..

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Most likely, the “tares” of the Middle East, is the weed that Jesus is referring to in the parable. It is a weed called “lolium temulentum” today known as Darnell.

It is a species of Rye Grass that, while it grows, looks exactly like wheat and is difficult to distinguish from the real wheat and so they must both be left to grow together until the ears of wheat open and show forth their grain, only then can the reaper distinguish the wheat from the tares. The seeds of the Darnell are both black and toxic, and if they become mixed with wheat gains and are milled into flower, bread baked with this flower will have a bitter taste. 

Both wheat and darnell plants must be left to grow in the same field together until harvest since attempts to uproot darnell will risk uprooting the wheat as well. Roman law even forbid sowing tares in an enemy’s field.

Jesus then explains the elements of the parable. He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age...

A spiritual application of this image of the enemy sowing "weeds" can be found in St. Ignatius'  Rules for discernment, for the second week, in the Spiritual Exercise. He explains when a soul has experienced the grace of conversion and healing during the first week, graces the Evil One has been unable to prevent, he changes tactics.

 I.(329) It is characteristic of God and His Angels, when they act upon the soul, to give true happiness and spiritual joy, and to banish all the sadness and disturbances which are caused by the enemy. It is characteristic of the evil one to fight against such happiness and consolation by proposing fallacious reasonings, subtilties, and continual deceptions. 

God alone can give consolation to the soul without any previous cause. It belongs solely to the Creator to come into a soul, to leave it, to act upon it, to draw it wholly to the love of His Divine Majesty. I said without previous cause, that is, without any preceding perception or knowledge of any subject by which a soul might be led to such a consolation through its own acts of intellect and will.

If a cause precedes, both the good angel and the evil spirit can give consolation to a soul, but for a quite different purpose. The good angel consoles for the progress of the soul, that it may advance and rise to what is more perfect. The evil spirit consoles for purposes that are the contrary, and that afterwards he might draw the soul to his own perverse intentions and wickedness.

It is a mark of the evil spirit to assume the appearance of an angel of light. He begins by suggesting thoughts that are suited to a devout soul, and ends by suggesting his own. For example, he will suggest holy and pious thoughts that are wholly in conformity with the sanctity of the soul. Afterwards, he will endeavor little by little to end by drawing the soul into his hidden snares and evil designs. (LINK)

When the enemy of our human nature has been detected and recognized by the trail of evil marking his course and by the wicked end to which he leads us, it will be profitable for one who has been

tempted to review immediately the whole course of the temptation. Let him consider the series of good thoughts, how they arose, how the evil one gradually attempted to make him step down from the state of spiritual delight and joy in which he was, till finally he drew him to his wicked designs. The purpose of this review is that once such an experience has been understood and carefully observed, we may guard ourselves for the future against the customary deceits of the enemy.

The spiritual life is a dynamic life, either prospering and expanding, or stagnate and in decline. It is the desire of the Lord that we continue to grow in the works of holiness but we have an enemy at work trying to prevent this from happening. Only God is holy. "The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works. Ps. 145:17" We do not design holiness, we imitate it. Therefore, the Christian life is a learning process, we learn from the Lord what is holy and we conduct our lives accordingly. Our job is to learn how to listen, how to recognize the Lords voice, how to distinguish the Lord's truth from the evil one's deceits. "I can do nothing on my own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. Jo. 5:30”

This is why the practice of the prayer of discernment or the prayer of examine is so important to the spiritual life. This prayer may take different forms. An excellent resource for this prayer can be found on Ignatian Spirituality web site.
Here is the LINK.