DAILY- HOMILY

21July 2016

Thursday, 16th Week in Ordinary Time 

St. Lawrence of Brindisi, Priest and Doctor of the Church

Green.            

Jer 2:1 – 3, 7 – 8, 12 – 13 / Mt 13:10 – 17  

St. Lawrence of Brindisi (1559 – 1619), an Italian Capuchin priest, preached against Luther.

From the Gospel Reading: Mt 13:10 – 17

Then his disciples came to him with the question, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"

Jesus answered, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but not to these people.  For the one who has, will be given more and he will have in abundance. But the one who does not have will be deprived of even what he has.  That is why I speak to them in parables, because they look and do not see; they hear, but they do not listen and understand.

"In them the words of the prophet Isaiah are fulfilled: Much as you hear, you do not understand; much as you see, you do not perceive. For the heart of this people has grown dull. . . . But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you that many prophets and upright people would have longed to see the things you see, but they did not, and to hear the things you hear, but they did not hear it."

Reflection

How often do we hear parents complaining that their children do not listen to them? How often do we hear a mother complaining that, even before she finishes, her son has gone off, "Yes, I know. I know."

How often do we find ourselves also unable to listen?  How well do we really listen?  Jesus spoke in parables to the crowds because he felt many of them heard but did not really listen and understand.  How often have we listened in similar fashion to God's word at Mass, be it the Scripture reading or the homily of the priest: "Oh, I have heard this before."  We may have already heard many times before, but has what we heard had any real meaning to us?  Do we listen to understand whether God's word has any meaning to us at this point of our lives?

The ability to listen is a basic expression of hospitality.  To listen with respect and patience is to warmly welcome the speaker into our heart. 

When we listen to God's word with attentive openness, we allow God to speak to us, we humbly accept that he has something to tell us and that we are willing to learn. We allow ourselves to be affected and to change our ways.  When we stop listening, we stop growing because we know everything and nobody can teach us anything.

Let us ask Jesus to open our eyes and our ears that we may truly see and hear with our heart and be healed by him.

WE PRAY FOR MTQ DAILY PRAYER DIARY INTENTIONS:

BIRTHDAY

     Apollo U. Jimenez

IN MEMORIAM (+)

     Edwin Chang (1952 – 2014)

Finally, we pray for one another, for those who have asked our prayers and for those who need our prayers the most. 

Have a good day!

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