💖 HOMILY - JUNE 8 💖

First Reading - 2 Timothy 4:1-8 

Gospel - Luke 2:41-51 (Proper to the memoria)

We have many spiritual practices in the Church which are geared to bring about changes in our spiritual life, such as retreats, recollections, daily prayers, and reading of the Bible. They are mostly external gestures to make us better and transformed. However, many times we neglect one important aspect that can bring about radical changes in our spiritual journey and in our lives as a whole: discernment. The readings of the day invite us to focus on our discerning heart that draws us closer to God and brings about changes in us.

The first reading recalls the exhorting words of Paul. Paul summarizes his mission as the one who is the preacher of the truth of the gospel and about Christ. He exhorts the believers to remain firm in the truth of the gospel that he has preached to them and become attentive to what is false and deceptive. Therefore, he appeals to have a discerning heart to distinguish between the truth and falsity of the gospel and not to twist the gospel to suit their interests.

The gospel passage leads us to concentrate on the very essential aspect of the spiritual journey of faith: to be able to treasure in our hearts like Mother Mary. We are all well aware of the story of Jesus being lost in the temple and later being found among the scholars, discussing and answering their questions. The whole scene surprises Mother Mary. The response of Jesus after they (Mary and Joseph) had found him surprises her still more. The gospel passage later says: "She treasured everything in her heart." This means she pondered those events and the words of Jesus. Mary was able to seek the assistance of God so that He might enlighten her to understand His will through them. This is called discernment.

Dear friends, as we celebrate today the feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, we get a feel of the kind of heart Mother Mary had; it was a discerning heart, a heart centered around discerning God's will. The gospel passage highlights this aspect, showing how she was able to ponder and discern God's will in her life through everything. We need to imitate our Blessed Mother in making our hearts discerning. It's really very important. St. Paul also reminds us through the first reading how important it is to have a discerning heart to comprehend the truth of the gospel and discern between falsity and truth. How do we acquire a discerning heart? We can learn this from our Blessed Mother; by meditating on the words of Jesus. It's necessary for us to remain with the words of Jesus to deepen our relationship with Him and bring changes in us to perceive the truth. Right discernment brings about changes in our thinking, and when our thinking changes, our dealings with others will also change. Our perspective towards everything will also change because at this juncture a person overcomes the superficiality of life, arrogance and pride of life, selfishness, and self-seeking cravings, and is able to center his or her life around the person of Christ.

Let's pray that we may have a discerning heart to remain in Jesus and be transformed in Him.