Mysterious passages in the scriptures challenge us to quiet our thoughts and engage in introspection. In the first reading, we are called to notice all the love God has showered on his people. In the gospel, the apostles are puzzled by some of Jesus’ parables and behaviors. Why would he not explain the parables to everyone? “They will see and not see, hear and not understand.” Hmm. That leads us to the link between search and desire. The parables had this effect: to spark a search in those who sincerely desire.

Saint Ignatius of Loyola invited his followers to examine their desires. Jesus himself often probed this question. He even challenged his parents: “Why were you searching for me?” He said to his first disciples, “What are you looking for?” Does our ability to see, to hear, to know the Lord flow from our desire to know him and the earnestness of our search? But the ability to understand the Mysteries of the Kingdom is given, Jesus also says, and he longs to give it abundantly. He accuses the ungrateful of blocking their own eyes and ears, in fact, of not wanting to see and hear. This deliberate choice blocks the hearing and understanding that unlock his Mysteries. The Eucharist has the same dynamic. Just a little host. Just a little piece of bread? This is my body… Do you see? Do you hear? How do you see? How do you hear? Does the mystery lead you to a deeper search, a deeper understanding? … Saint Peter Julian liked to say that during adoration he thought of Jesus as hidden behind the veil of the bread…. Is our desire so strong that it leads to knowledge… to break through the veil… to the knowledge of faith?

Let Us Pray:

Jesus, soften my heart, open my eyes, my ears. Help me see and understand your immense love for us, your mysterious desire to be close to us, with us, in us.