That's what it means. I have already spoken about the words of Christ: "The Kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:21), I explained what this word of Christ means. Remember well that the Kingdom of God is within you. Likening the Kingdom of God to how a tree grows from a mustard seed, the Lord depicts the process that takes place in the human soul, which has received the seed of the word of God.

About the word of God, the holy Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews said amazing words: "The word of God is alive and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword: it pierces to the division of soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and judges the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

Many, many times it happened that one word of God, one phrase of the Gospel, heard by a good person, produced a revolution in his soul. I will give just one example: this happened to one of the greatest saints of God, Anthony the Great. He was a noble, powerful, very rich man. Once in church he heard the words of the Gospel: "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell thy possessions, and give to the poor" (Matt. 19:21). These words, this little seed of the word of God, produced an unexpected revolution in his soul: he immediately went and fulfilled what he had heard in church. He sold his possessions, which were very significant, and distributed them to the poor, while he himself went away for the rest of his life into a wild, terrible wilderness. The words were fulfilled in it: "The word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword."

How does the process of the growth of grace in man – the Kingdom of God within him – take place if he receives the seed of the word of God? This process is similar to that which occurs when grain is buried in the ground. The Lord sends His rains, the light and warmth of His sun. Under the grace-filled influence of God, God's seed grows and grows. This is done with God's help.

In the same way, the word of God, received by man, grows; grows like a seed received by a fruitful and cultivated land. It is extremely important that the land is fertile. If so, then the word of God will grow, like a mustard seed, under the influence of the grace of God, just as under the influence of the warmth and light of the sun, under the influence of rain, a mustard seed sprouts in the ground. It grows and bears luxuriant fruit in the soul of the person who receives it. His love grows more and more abundantly in his soul, his mercy, humility and meekness grow.

Gradually, the seed grows from the ground, small grass appears, a small stem, then a large trunk grows, the plant is covered with lush green foliage and finally gives fruit. So it is in the human heart. In this way he gradually grows, spiritually perfects, in this way his heart is purified, in this way his mind is enlightened and becomes to some extent similar to the mind of Christ. Christ directs all thoughts as they should, directs their intellectual, moral, and all spiritual growth. This is what it means to liken the Kingdom of God to a grain of mustard seed.

And what does the other assimilation mean? You put the yeast in the flour, leave it in a warm place, and an amazing process occurs. A small leaven, an insignificant lump of yeast, produces a great change: the whole dough is permeated with gas bubbles, rises, sours, and becomes the good dough from which you bake bread.

So the word of God is like this little leaven. Penetrating into human souls, the word of God here produces a great and holy process, similar to that which takes place in dough. Everything changes, everything is permeated like gas bubbles in dough, by the gracious influence of God's Word. Everything changes so profoundly in the soul, as in a dough. A person grows spiritually, rises like dough that boils.

You know that if you leave the dough in a cold place, the yeast will not produce its effect, the dough will not rise. It must be placed in a warm place, only then this amazing process will begin in it. It is the same in the human soul: only then does this amazing process of rebirth take place in a person, when the word of God is received with a warm, warm heart, a heart full of love.

That's when this amazing process begins, the process of rebirth of the soul. When a seed is sown in the ground, labor is needed to make it grow. The farmer or gardener takes on great care: he must manure the soil in which the seed is sown, water the ground, dig up the sprouts when they appear. Many, many worries are needed to grow seeds. Thus, we must take upon ourselves a great multitude of labors, so that the word of God may grow in us. It is impossible to place all hopes in the grace of God, to hope that the Lord Himself will grow, that He Himself will see to it that the plant that has grown from the seed does not wither, that frost and cold do not destroy it, that the thistles and thorns do not grow under the influence of worldly life and choke it.

And how often the word of God is heard penetrates into the human heart, but falls on stony ground, where the layer of earth is thin. And the roots of the seed cannot take root deeply, they remain weak and stunted: the plant withers and when the heat of the sun comes, it withers; if the winds blow, they destroy it. This is the case with all those who have received the word of God, but the cares of this world do not allow them to care about the growth of the seed. How many people abandon the care of the word of God and go over to worldly cares, and the word of God withers and its sprouts wither.

You see how important it is, how necessary it is to preserve the sprouts of the word of God. How tenderly one should take care of them, cherish them with all our might, try to make them grow. This is the goal of our life: we live in order to become sons of God, friends of God, in order to draw closer to God. This purpose will be fulfilled and achieved when we direct all our labors, all our efforts, all our attention to the growth in us of the holy seed of God's word.

Let it not be fruitless in your hearts! May you always be vigilant and carefully guard with all your strength the grace of God received from the Lord Jesus Christ. In order to give this grace, given to the elect who are able to draw near to God, God performed a wondrous deed: He gave us to drink His Blood, shed on the Cross of Golgotha. In order that we might grow as pure holy plants before God, the Son of God gave us His flesh.

You perceive this Body and Blood of Christ in the great Sacrament of Communion. Never approach the cup with a light heart. Approach with trembling, with great fear. Receive the Body and Blood of Christ and know that they will grow in your hearts great and holy seeds.