“… they may hear and listen but not understand…” – Mark 4:12

We hear teachers ask this favorite question after every lesson: “Class, do you understand?” And students would usually answer, “Yeeesss, Ma’am!” Both seem to understand each other and all is well — until exam day comes and more than half of the class fails. How come? Because although they have heard and listened, they might not have understood.

Surely, we have heard God’s Word in many ways: at the Mass where the Gospel is read and expounded in homilies, through the catechism or religion subjects taught in schools, through prayer meetings or Bible studies, through retreats and recollections, through parents, relatives, friends, speakers and preachers who must have shared God’s Word one way or another, or through personal readings and encounters.

So why do we still fail? Because we only heard and listened but really did not understand. Or worse, we chose not to understand. Surprisingly, some would even be contented in not understanding at all and hide behind the easy excuse that they didn’t understand.

Do you understand? - Alvin Barcelona from Didache

REFLECTION:
Did you have the chance to understand God’s word more but chose not to? Do you pray for and cooperate in understanding
God’s messages in your life?

Lord, grant me the grace to listen to your Word and, above all, to understand it and apply it in my daily life. Amen.