the ears - 25th week Monday 2017

Yesterday, I talked about the importance of the eyes, how we see reality, how we train our eyes to see things.  But there is something more important than the eyes and seeing.  It is the ears and hearing.  Spiritually our ears are our most important sense organ.  Remember what St. Paul said, Faith comes through hearing – hearing the word of God.

Jesus in our gospel said, take care then how you hear – how you hear.  We are not responsible for what we hear – that is beyond our control many times.  People nowadays in the age of facebook and twitter say what they want to say and we cannot control that.  And sadly many are more attentive to these than to God’s word.  Remember we may not be responsible for what we hear but we are responsible for how we hear - take care then how you hear, the gospel says – and how we hear involves the attention we give to it, the way we receive it and the length of time we stay on it to remember and to reflect on it.  We always look up to Mary as an example of how a good listener listens to God’s words.  First, she gave it her full attention allowing herself to question it, to clarify it.  When the angel announced to her that she would become the mother of God, Mary did not just keep quiet, instead she sought clarification, she questioned even, asking the angel, "how can this be since I do not know man?"  
Second, how does Mary receive God’s word - Mary receives God’s word with an open heart saying, let it be done to me as you say.  
And thirdly, after hearing God’s word and responding to it with willingness and an open heart, she kept God’s words in her heart pondering upon them, memorizing them, remembering them, prolonging thereby her act of listening. This was how Mary listened to God’s word – how she listened.

Take care how you hear. 

In the mass we are made to sit when we listen, when the word of God is read to us.  We are taught that when the word is proclaimed to the assembly Christ is present in our midst speaking to us – he is present in our midst talking to us.  In the gospel we are made to stand to show our readiness to do God’s commands, God’s bidding.  Take care therefore how you hear.