7/27/2023 (Thursday) Today’s gospel reading: Matthew 13:10-17

10 The disciples approached Jesus and said, “Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?”
11 He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
12 To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
14 Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You shall indeed hear but not understand, you shall indeed look but never see.
15 Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and be converted and I heal them.
16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.
17 Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

7/27/2023 (Thursday) Today’s gospel reflection: Matthew 13:10-17

It is often asked, why do we have two ears but one mouth? This is quite easy to answer. God has designed it that way so that we need to listen twice before we speak. Many of us however speak more often than listen. The consequence is terrible. The world is full of noise but little understanding! Indeed, people have ears but do not hear.

Saint Paul tells us in Romans 10:17 that faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of God. The importance of hearing and listening can not be over-emphasized here. We ask the Holy Spirit to help us open our eyes and ears so that we may focus on His message.

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In today’s world where social media eats a lot of our time, we hear a lot but most of what we hear are pure noise. What we hear are not useful in our growth and maturity as Spiritual beings. In fact, what we hear from the world are vexations of the spirit. Sadly however, most people nowadays cannot live without their cell phones. They can’t even put away their cell phones during dinner or worship time.

For us to gain “knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven”, we need special moments of meditation of the Word of God. We have to devote time for prayer and reading of the bible. We need to have more time to put away that small gadget called cell phone.

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