20260723 Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

(Jer 2:1–3, 7–8, 12–13; Mt 13:10–17): Lord, Let Us See and Hear Through Your Eyes in Our Broken Hearts Dear beloved brothers and sisters, I invite us today to look back upon our lives—upon every step that has brought us to this very moment—through the eyes of our Lord, resting safely in the embrace of His love and mercy. Has there ever been a single moment when the Lord did not lead us? Has there ever been a single encounter in our lives that happened purely by chance? And yet, as we navigate through life, desperately clinging to our self-esteem to protect our wounded ego amidst difficult relationships, we sometimes forget those beautiful times when the Lord stood right beside us in the face of overwhelming waves. On the other hand, what happens when a person becomes so self-centered that they are consumed by a distorted thrill from having everyone bow down before them? Indeed, we sometimes encounter those who choose people selectively based on social utility and puff themselves up, ultimately living in total forgetfulness of God’s grace. In the Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, chapter 2, verses 2 and 3, the Lord awakens us to remember the beginning of our lives and those times when we abode in His grace: “I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved me as a bride, following me through the wilderness, through a land not sown. Sacred to the LORD was Israel, the first fruits of his harvest.” Yet, at the same time, in verse 7 that follows, He points out: “But you came and defiled my land, you made my heritage abominable.” These words urge us to reflect on how we are cultivating our present lives, even while holding the grace that God has already so abundantly poured out upon us. For what matters most is not a mere nostalgic recollection of having once been filled with grace, but our daily reality and ongoing response as we faithfully nurture that grace today. As Jesus declares in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, verse 16: “But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.” How wonderful would it be if we could look upon ourselves before God with eyes of humble repentance, and—as we walk alongside one another—listen to the groans and thirst of those right beside us with a warm and open soul! Dear beloved brothers and sisters, today once again, we shall walk upon the merciful path prepared by our Lord. Receiving with grateful hearts these blessed days, which cannot be filled by anything apart from His mercy, I pray that we may become people who weave love into every place our feet may tread. Amen.