Blessed are your eyes and ears: Daily Mass Homily--Thursday, July 24th, 2014

           After rebuking those who did not believe in him, Jesus told his disciples, “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.”  Indeed, Noah, Abraham, David and the many other men and women of the Old Testament never knew Jesus, thus his followers lived in a blessed time in salvation history.

            Yet I would argue that we live in a more blessed time.  While Peter, the apostles and disciples knew Jesus while he walked on earth, consider the Lord’s ministry then and now.  While he forgave sins, fed the hungry, cured the sick and preached the Word, he did so in a small portion of our globe.  He did so over a period of three years and reached a relatively small group of people.

            Now consider how Jesus has worked in the last 2000 years.  He continues to be really present in the Eucharist every day around the globe.  Through the sacraments, billions of people have been forgiven, healed and taught.  The Catholic Church has fed more of the hungry, worked with more of the sick and educated more people than any other institution in the last 2000 years.

            May we always remember Jesus’ words to us: “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.”

            May we keep our eyes and ears open today that we may perceive God in our midst and spread the Good News today.