Homily: July 27, 2023, Thursday of the sixteeth week in Ordinary time (See and Hear)

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 "You shall indeed hear but not understand; you shall indeed look but never see."

Have you ever experienced this before?

Well, I have. When I was in school, I heard everything the teachers taught, but understood nothing. I always looked at what the teachers wrote on the chalk board, but my mind saw nothing it could comprehend. Math, English, Chemistry were subjects that brought me out of this world, into the great outer space. You can easily imagine how frustrated my teachers were with me those days. Anyway, I didn’t like them either.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah to explain why He spoke in parables to the crowd. He understands why they could not understand, he sees how they could not see. Such blindness and hardness of heart are not new, from the time of Moses, it has been thus.

In today's first reading, the Israelites witnessed the powerful forms of God’s presence – thunder, lightning, clouds, smoke, blasting trumpets all taking place in supernatural ways. They have also seen many other miraculous acts which God performed earlier. Did they understand that their God is a mighty God?

No. The chapters following will show how they forgot who God is and began worshipping their own created idols.

And now hundreds of years later, after seeing Jesus perform so many wonders, signs, and miracles, they still did not recognize the Son of God. They still could not understand God’s plan.

What about us? After two thousand years, do we understand our God?

Every day we hear His Holy Word proclaimed, do we understand? Every Mass we look at Him giving us His body and blood, do we see His deep love and great mercy?

Jesus says, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven has been granted to you…”

Our generation is blessed, we see the big picture of salvation and we hear the full version of the Lord’s teachings. But we also live in a world full of distorted images and confusing messages, so we have to learn to see and hear only the Truth, the right and the good.

Our Lord is empathetic and compassionate. If we still do not understand, He has given us the parables too. Let us be steadfast and know one thing for sure, we do not need any other god but this one and only, powerful, merciful, and loving God.

Go to no one, seek no other, come only to Jesus. Amen.


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Homilía: 23 de Octubre 2022, XXX Domingo ordinario (ES)

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