💖 HOMILY - SEPTEMBER 22 💖

First Reading - Proverbs 21:1-6,10-13

Gospel - Luke 8:19-21

We all have the tendency to listen to what we want to hear. We may receive good advice, but sometimes we choose only what agrees with our own plans. The readings today invite us to go a step further: not simply to hear God's word, but to allow it to guide the way we live.

The first reading from Proverbs reminds us that God sees what is within the human heart. It speaks about justice, humility, honest work and the danger of following our own desires. We may think that we know what is best for ourselves, but God's wisdom sees beyond what we can see.

This is beautifully connected with today's Gospel. Jesus is told that his mother and his brothers are outside and want to see him. Jesus responds, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus is not rejecting his mother or his family. Rather, he is showing us what it truly means to belong to him. Our relationship with Christ is not based merely on being close to him externally. It is based on hearing God's word and putting it into practice.

This is also what the first reading teaches us. It is possible to know what is right and still fail to live it. We can speak about honesty but act dishonestly. We can speak about love but hold resentment in our hearts. We can speak about humility but always want to be recognized. The real measure of our faith is how God's word becomes visible in our daily lives.

Mary gives us the perfect example. She is not only the mother of Jesus according to the flesh; she is also the one who listened to God's word and accepted it. At the Annunciation, she heard God's call and responded, “Let it be done to me according to your word.” Her life became an example of listening and obedience.

Therefore, Jesus' words in today's Gospel are an invitation to all of us. We do not need a special status to become close to Christ. Anyone who listens to God's word and lives it becomes part of his family.

The question for us today is simple: What is God saying to me, and am I willing to act upon it?

Perhaps God is asking us to forgive someone, to be more patient, to let go of resentment, to speak honestly, to help someone in need, or simply to spend more time with him in prayer. Hearing the word is only the beginning. The real transformation happens when we put it into practice.

Let us therefore ask for the grace to have not only ears that hear God's word, but hearts that are willing to obey it. May our daily lives show that we truly belong to Christ, because we hear his word and put it into practice.