God does not give us more than we can handle but it's hard. . .

Sisters and brothers in Christ, in yesterday's Gospel, Jesus tells us, "Whoever has ears ought to hear." In today's Gospel, he double-down on his message saying, " blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear." When we open our eyes and ears to God with faith, He comes and dwells in our hearts, giving us hope because we feel is loving presence in our lives. When we allow ourselves to receive Christ into our lives and let him be our Lord and our King, he fills us with his peace, a supernatural peace that helps us through the trials and tribulations in our lives.

Recently, I talked with a colleague who is facing many trials in her life - illness, the deaths of loved ones, and all the stress that comes with such tragedies and challenges that is a part of life. Yet, she remains hopeful because she trusts God. She told me that she knows that God does not give us more than we can handle but it's hard; however, she remains steadfast in her faith. She goes tackles the challenges in her life through the lens of faith. Her ears of faith are always open to hearing God's consolation. She feels God's loving presence in her life at all times. It is as Jesus says, "To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich [in faith]. . . blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear." May we always have our eyes open to see God working in our lives and our ears open to hear Him speak words of comfort, peace, and guidance in our hearts.

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Gospel of the Day

The disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Why do you speak to the crowd in parables?”
He said to them in reply,
“Because knowledge of the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven
has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted.
To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich;
from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because
they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.
Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their hearts and be converted
and I heal them.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see,
and your ears, because they hear.
Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people
longed to see what you see but did not see it,
and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”