Today’s readings can be found here.
Reflection
“‘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.’”
Jesus’ answer to those who ask him about the need for parables might seem a bit discriminatory, but I can confirm that his choice reflects profound pedagogy.
Indeed, there’s a time in life when we only grasp things through a few effective examples, but understanding them doesn’t mean we also realize that they are talking precisely about us.
The parables clarify our ideas on big issues, but it’s an additional gift from God to sense that the truth of that reasoning isn’t about humanity in general but precisely about us.
However, when that does happen, it triggers joy as well as responsibility:
“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!”
Once you understand how things are, and especially after it’s clear to you how that truth intersects with your life, how can you not act accordingly? As long as you don’t know, you aren’t responsible; but once you begin to know, then you become fully involved, with all the pros and cons.
~
Father Luigi Maria Epicoco is a priest of the Aquila Diocese and teaches Philosophy at the Pontifical Lateran University and at the ISSR ‘Fides et ratio,’ Aquila. He dedicates himself to preaching, especially for the formation of laity and religious, giving conferences, retreats and days of recollection. He has authored numerous books and articles. Since 2021, he has served as the Ecclesiastical Assistant in the Vatican Dicastery for Communication and columnist for the Vatican’s daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano.
