“They may look and look, yet not see; they may listen and listen, yet not understand. For, if they did, ...” (Mk 4:12)

 “They may look and look, yet not see; they may listen and listen, yet not understand. For, if they did, they would turn to God, and he would forgive them.” (Mk 4:12)

  

Today’s Passages: Mk 4:1-20; Heb 10:11-18

Meditation: In today’s readings we hear about some of our human inadequacies or limitations. The first one is from the letter to the Hebrews where it says, “Every Jewish priest performs his services every day and offers the same sacrifices many times; but these sacrifices can never take away sins.” (Heb 10:11) The second one is from the gospel of Mark where it tells, “They may look and look, yet not see; they may listen and listen, and yet do not understand. For, if they did, they would turn to God, and he would forgive them.” (Mk 4:12)

As we celebrate today the feast of great philosopher-theologian St. Thomas Aquinas, the above read passages have got special meaning and relevance. St. Thomas did believe that faith and reason are not two poles, but they go together hand in hand; perhaps faith has got an upper hand on reason. He says, “To one who has faith, no explanation is necessary. To the one without faith, no explanation is possible.” The message we heard from Pope emeritus Benedict XVI through his encyclical Lumen Fidei, proves the same; “The faith illumines every aspects of human knowledge.”

Both of them convey that our human inadequacies could be corrected and perfected through faith. The confession of Peter underlines this fact, “Lord, to whom, would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. And now we believe and know that you are the Holy One who has come from God.” (Jn 6:68, 69) It is very important to note what he says – “now we believe and know.” Because, it is God who makes you understand the things.

It is quite interesting to note that the very people who reject and despise faith and God as unreasonable, and praise the inventions of the modern sciences, gropes in the darkness as they find the great scientific achievements began with simple hypotheses. There are great many scientists who opened new horizons of knowledge keeping their in God. Let all our pursuit of knowledge be on our knees that they be perfect and clear.

Prayer: Lord God, we thank you and praise you for your daily eternal bread. The word of the Lord says, “‘This is the covenant that I will make with them in the days to come,’ says the Lord, ‘I will put my laws in their hearts and write them on their hearts.’” (Heb 10:16) Let the promise of this eternal word be fulfilled in each one of us. We ask for this grace through Christ our Lord. Amen!

Greetings: God is with you! Have a blissful Wednesday!