Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Friday of the 16th week in ordinary time, July 24, 2026.
The theme for our meditation today is: Listening and Understanding. There is a question that is often raised to the people and also to the priests which goes like this: "Why in the moments of teaching, reflection, and homily, the listeners are not quite comfortable in listening to it but they are more often found sleepy? Just look at the time the priest gives a homily in the holy Mass, quite a lot of people who are sleepy."
There are so many reasons. Weaknesses or deficiencies can be found out from the priest side and the people side as well. The weakness point can be from the preacher himself or can be from his listeners. Quite a number of people say that the listeners apparently can hear what is being preached or proclaimed but they do not understand it. This is considered as one of the reasons why they are easilly bored and sleepy. These two mental and intellectual abilities, listening and understanding, play important roles in the growth of our mental, spiritual, and social life.
Listening is an activity that is supported by human ears, the instrument that is the first to receive messages that come to us. This activity is the same as seeing with the eyes and feeling with the skin. The messages that come and we are able to hear them are still raw. For instance, we feel a drop of water on our skin. This feeling does not mean anything before it is processed in the brain so that it becomes a thought or an idea. Only then can an understanding occur in us. A new understanding is made from the listening process which is then made up by the mind, which eventually shapes new attitude, behavior and way of life.
That is why Jesus is very firm in saying that a good person is the one who can hear and understand the Word of God that is proclaimed to him. If he only listens to it, he does not have a complete goodness from God. His understanding will never happen if he does not hear the Word of God. Such person with adequate ability to listen and understand is like the good soil, that is when the Word of God comes to him, it will grow and bear much fruit in his life.
In the activity of hearing and understanding we must be able to avoid some of these things: our hearts and minds seem to be like big and small streets where the word of God falls there, then birds or chickens come to eat it, and finally the word of God does not grow. We seem also like rocks with so little soil on it, and where the word of God grows on it, it does not take roots, and eventually withers when the sun becomes hot and it dies. Our hearts and minds seem like thorns and shrubs, then when the word of God grows, it will be crushed and threatened to death. By avoiding all those defects in ourselves, what remains is we as the good and fertile soil.
Let's pray. In the name of the Father ... O God almighty, we pray that by Your providence, we may become good and fertile soil so that your Word will flourish and ultimately bear much fruit. Hail Mary, full of grace... In the name of the Father ...
