Homily: July 26, 2026, Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary time (God Speaks)

 The Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream at night. And God said to him, “Ask something of me, and I will give it to you.”

How many of you had dreams last night?

I often have vivid dreams. Sometimes they are good and pleasant dreams; sometimes they are bad dreams or nightmares. Usually, when I wake up, I remember them for a few hours, and then they disappear. In fact, I know I dreamed last night, but this morning I cannot remember what the dream was about!

One recurring dream I have is that I am late for Mass or some important event. I am stuck in traffic, trying desperately to get there, while the entire church is waiting for me! I don't know what that recurring dream means, but I can assure you it is not prophetic—and I certainly hope it never comes true!

Once I shared this with a priest friend. He told me that he has a recurring dream too. In his dream, he is celebrating Mass, but he cannot find the prayer in the Roman Missal. He keeps flipping through the pages while everyone is waiting for him!

Our dreams can certainly be strange.

But throughout Scripture, we see that dreams and visions were sometimes ways in which God spoke to His people. 

Why does Scripture so often describe God speaking during the night?

At night, everything becomes quiet. The activities of the day stop. The noise fades away. We are no longer running from one thing to another.

There is silence.

And God needs silence to speak to us—not because God is unable to speak above the noise, but because we need silence in order to hear Him.

God is our loving Father. He desires to speak to His children. But sometimes we cannot hear Him because our lives are filled with noise. We are constantly busy, distracted, and disturbed. There is always something demanding our attention: our phones, TV, work, worries, responsibilities, messages, and the endless noise around us.

Perhaps God is speaking, but we are simply too busy to listen.

Something very simple we can all do is spend a little time with God every morning and every night. Let prayer be one of the first things you do in the morning and the last things you do before going to sleep.

You don't need many words.

Silence your heart. Silence your mind. Put away the phone for a few minutes. Sit in the presence of God and simply say:

“Speak to me, Lord. I am listening.”

Our relationship with God grows in much the same way that every meaningful relationship grows. We need to give Him time. We need to listen. We need to be present.

The more quality time we spend with God, the deeper our relationship with Him becomes. And as that relationship grows, something begins to change within us. We discover a peace and a joy that the world cannot give. We begin to desire God more and more.

That brings us to the Gospel today.

Jesus tells us about a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he finds one pearl of great price, he goes and sells everything he has and buys it.

Why would he give up everything?

Because he has discovered something worth more than everything else.

That pearl is the Kingdom of God. Ultimately, it is God Himself.

When we truly encounter God, our priorities begin to change. Things that once seemed so important become less important. We begin to understand what Solomon understood in the first reading.

God told Solomon, “Ask something of me and I will give it to you.”

Solomon could have asked for wealth. He could have asked for a long life. He could have asked for victory over his enemies. Instead, he asked for an understanding heart—a heart capable of listening, discerning, and knowing what is right.

And God was pleased with his request.

Maybe today God is asking each of us the same question:

“What do you want me to give you?” let us tell him 

“Lord, give me an understanding heart. Give me a listening heart. Help me to hear Your voice and know Your will.”