The second reading today begins a five week selection from the letter of James. This challenging, and practical, New Testament work is a superb guide for the spiritual life. In this week’s passage, the author uses an image familiar to all of us - agriculture: “ Humbly ( humus-soil, land) welcome the word that has been planted in you.” Our souls are the soil in which God plants his graces. The harvest we return to him doesn’t depend on winter snowpack or irrigation quotas, it depends on how well we nourish the soil!