"Whoever has ears ought to hear." When I hear Jesus' statement, I think back to all the times I heard from a coach, scoutmaster, and others: "Listen up!"
"Listen up as in I need your attention because this is important." Today's saint, Lawrence of Brindisi, wrote: "The Word of the Lord is a light for the mind and a fire for the will…."
We believe that all of God's word is essential to our lives; however, Jesus knows our human limitations (our ability to focus), and so at times, his words highlight a point that we need to focus upon.
Today it has to do with the parable of the sower, seed, and where the seed lands. Now there's lots of competition to our hearing Jesus. There are news anchors, politicians, commercials, and all sorts of entertainment and self-help programs, and even family, neighbors, and co-workers; both in-person and online.
As I thought about the variety of voices and other input we receive daily, I thought about its effects - do you ever wonder whether we can handle all of it and still hear Jesus?
I'd imagine his disciples started to do some soul searching - wondering if they'd allowed competition to Jesus' words to hinder their hearing and understanding Him. Or maybe they began to wonder about what was going on internally and their disposition to the message.
At times, we can listen, understand but still choose to accept not Jesus' word. (The Israelites struggle with this in our first reading during their journey.)
There are all sorts of reasons why we do this - we can become discouraged, tired, cynical, or even presumptuous about God's mercy for us, and how long we have to straighten ourselves out.
As I hear Jesus' words about the obstacles, I start to think about weeding out and removing the rocks that hinder the life-giving Word of God.
This is a good thing to talk about with our family members—so that you can pray about these obstacles and support one another in this needed clearing. Next, we can examine ourselves: mind, body, and soul.
What do we need to cultivate rich soil to receive the Word of God?
What can we do as a family and as family members to nourish our mind, body, and soul to allow the Word of God to grow and bear fruit?
Venerable Patrick Peyton knew from experience that praying the family Rosary each night after supper was the key to uniting his family with God and our blessed Mother.
He wrote and spoke about the fruitfulness of this his entire life.
He shared that this family prayer strengthened the natural bonds of a father and mother, brothers and sisters that led to their seeking to live Godly lives that included sacrificial love - both within the family and beyond.
