Farmer of Hearts - How Not to Miss God’s Voice

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) Over the past few days of reflection, we have come to realize that we need to rely completely on the Good Shepherd. We know that the Good Shepherd is speaking and guiding—but why is it so difficult for us to hear His voice? Our minds and hearts are often cluttered, distracted, and divided. At the beginning of His public ministr...

“I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will listen to my voice; and there will be one flock, one shepherd… My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (John 10:16, 27) Yesterday, we reflected on the difference between the Good Shepherd and the hired hand. Today, we turn our attention to the nature of the sheep—that is, to our own nature—...

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand, who is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away—and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. The hired hand runs away because a hired hand does not care for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father k...

Jesus said: “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold through the gate but climbs in by another way is a thief and a robber. The one who enters through the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. The gatekeeper opens it for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep...

Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him. (Matthew 4:11) Why didn't the angels come on the first day of Jesus' hunger? Why didn't they show up when He stood on the pinnacle of the temple? St. Thomas Aquinas explains that the angels waited until the temptation was over so that Jesus could defeat the devil as a man. If the angels had intervened too early, the victory wo...

Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor; and he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.’” (Matthew 4:8-10) This is a battle about “focus.” The devil brought Jesus up to a very h...

Then the devil took him to the holy city and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’     and ‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test....

The tempter approached and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread.” (Matthew 4:3) When Jesus was baptized, the Father’s voice declared: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17) But forty days later, the tempter’s very first words attack that declaration: “If you are the Son of God…” Notice the subtle twist. The devil a...

“He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry.” (Matthew 4:2) “Afterwards he was hungry.” This simple line of Scripture reveals the true humanity of Jesus. He was not incapable of feeling pain; rather, He chose not to let pain govern His decisions and actions. Why are we afraid of hunger? Because hunger reminds us that we are not self-sufficient. We are fragile, and we m...

“The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to him.” (Mark 1:12-13) Scripture uses a very strong verb here: “drove.” Jesus’ entry into the wilderness was not accidental; it was the deliberate initiative of the Holy Spirit. Why? Paragraphs 538 and 539 of the Catechism...

Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘One does not live by bread alone, but also by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4) After fasting in the wilderness for forty days and becoming hungry, Jesus faced the temptation of the devil. He did not yield to the needs of the flesh, but proclaimed that the Word of God is the true food. You may think, “How can this be? This is not so...

"Oh, that today you would hear his voice: Do not harden your hearts as at Meribah, as on the day of Massah in the desert. There your ancestors tested me; they tried me though they had seen my works." (Psalm 95:7–9) Over these days of retreat, we have begun to explore the foundations of listening. One essential prerequisite is our desire for an intimate relationship with God. Yesterday’s reflection...

And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. (1 Kings 19:11-12) We often expect God to speak in "thunde...

Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. (Mark 1:35) If even Jesus, the Son of God, needed time alone with the Father, how much more do we? We live in an age filled with noise — endless notifications, constant messages,  and the habit of scrolling without rest. In a world so loud and crowded, as we are faced with information overload, it becomes dif...

For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and succeed in the thing for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:10-11) This Bible pas...

You may recall that a scribe once asked Jesus, of all the commandments, which was the greatest. Jesus replied: “The first is: ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (Mark 12:30–31) This is the greate...

In our reflection on the twenty-fifth day of the retreat, we mentioned that while “ hope” may seem small in the eyes of most people, it bears the important role of leading and propelling both “ faith” and “ love” . It has the power to move people into action. In His farewell message during the Last Supper, Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment: "Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you...

God's desire is that we may be with Him not only in this life but also in eternal life, and that we may enjoy and receive all that is best. Everything He has done and arranged for us is for our greatest benefit. Since our first ancestors betrayed God, not only did God not abandon us, but for our sake, He saved us through the birth, suffering, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He also esta...

Throughout this retreat, we have touched on various concepts related to the Kingdom of Heaven. Now, let us delve deeper into what exactly this Kingdom refers to, and where it is. As the name suggests, the Kingdom of Heaven is the Kingdom of God, meaning that God, through Jesus Christ, reigns over all creation. Jesus is the King of this Kingdom. Pope Benedict XVI, in the first volume of his book Je...

Today, let us take a different perspective and look at another stumbling block that hinders us from finding hope. It turns out that another way to test and reveal the extent of our faith and hope is to consider: what do we ask of God? The rich young man came before Jesus and said, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” (Matthew 19:16) The rich young man longed for eternal life a...

During the previous day’s retreat, we explored the following questions: “Where do we invest our energy and life? What exactly are we asking of God?” Today, we continue this topic. I hope you still remember that we previously talked about the Gospel story of the rich young man (cf. Matthew 19:16–26). After that story, there’s a short episode that is also worth reflecting on. The rich young man, unw...

When we build relationships with others, we need to get to know each other. As we continue to deepen our relationship with God, let us also take a moment to reflect on human nature. Although God created humans in His own image, there’s often a clear case of “the goods not matching the label”! This isn’t because God made a mistake, but rather due to the sinful nature of man. Humans are selfish and...

I hope yesterday’s reflection helps everyone realize that the greatest crisis in the world is not an economic crisis, not an environmental crisis, not a political crisis, nor even a crisis of war, it is a crisis of faith, and more importantly, a crisis of hope. The greatest pillar of this world is the Truth that Christ left behind. This Truth is rooted in the teachings of Jesus and the example He...

Two days ago, we talked about the difference between “optimism” and “worldly hope”, and we took it a step further by analyzing the difference between “worldly hope” and the Christian virtue of hope . When we are young, with fewer burdens and pressures in life, facing life with an optimistic attitude is usually enough. But as we grow older and take on more responsibilities and heavier burdens, we n...

During yesterday’s retreat, we mentioned that the world often defines “hope” as a desire for things that can be attained in this life — for example: success, health, or a comfortable life. As Christians, however, we look forward to the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life as our true happiness. The former is a fleeting kind of happiness, while the latter is eternal. But are these two in conflict? Ca...