THE DAILY GOSPEL

July 26, 2013

Friday 17th Week in Ordinary Time Joachim and Ann Psalter: Week 1 Ps 132:11, 13-14, 17-18 God will give him the throne of David, his father. 1st Reading: Sir 44:1, 10-15 Let us now glorify illustrious men, the ancestors of our people. But now consider the godly men whose good deeds have not been forgotten. Those who came after them benefited from the rich legacy they left; their race remained faithful to the Covenant, their children followed their example. Their family will endure forever and never will its glory be tarnished. Their bodies were buried in peace but their memory lives through generations. People will speak of their wisdom and the assembly will celebrate their praise. Gospel: Mt 13:16-17

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:

“Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears, because they hear.” But can we have eyes and not see, and ears and not hear? Unfortunately, yes. We find Jesus complaining that despite having eyes, some people do not see (Mk 8:18). Jeremiah too complains of the same (Jer 5:21). The Psalmist laments the same as well (Ps 115:5; 135:16). Jesus often ends his parables with the punch line, “Those who have ears, let them hear” (Matt 11:15; Mk 4:9).

It takes a certain kind of openness, commitment, and attitude of the heart to see and to hear certain things. Take a mother who is in deep sleep: She does not hear the sound of a truck passing by, but she picks up the slightest whimper of her baby, and is awake. Or a person who lives in the world of business: even in his sleep, he is alert to the ring of the telephone.

What is my heart attuned to, and what do I see and hear?

Claretian Communications Foundation Inc.; 8 Mayumi Street, UP Village, Diliman, 1101 Quezon City; Tel.: (02) 921-3984, 922-9806; Fax: (02) 921-6205; email: www.claretianpublications.com/cci@claret.org; website: ccfi@claretphilippines.com