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Free Holy Week Resources 
and Parent Guide

Before I get to my blog post today, please do not miss our free Holy Week resources!  We have a page of free downloads for Elementary kids, Middle School, and High School.  Our resources also contain a guide for parents to discuss getting the most out of Holy Week with your little ones! Check out the page HERE.

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Hidden Message or Better Ears?

It is a fascinating phenomenon that a message can be heard by many but received so differently … even arguably only heard by a few. While we may recall a familiar jingle about bologna or that Baskin Robbins has 31 flavors, that doesn’t mean “all” or even most of us enjoy these products… we just know of them.  We may know of a particular politician’s platform but clearly, we hear that messaging differently.

Is it a hidden message? Definitely not!

Do some just have better ears? In a sense, yes.

Our Lord would often end His teachings, His parables, with the phrase, “those who have ears to hear, let them hear!” 

I’m by no means a psychologist, and certainly I’m steering clear of politics (as tempted as I have been to comment), but, in this tumultuous time, I believe I understand what Christ meant more than ever.

Our Teen Lent series this year, called “The Storyteller”, has been focused on these amazing Parables of Christ reminding us that aside from being Holy, Divine, and the Savior of the World – Our Lord Jesus Christ was also a Brilliant Teacher. Sometimes we forget the wisdom in His Holy words.  Beyond miraculous and prophetic, Christ’s words were worth listening to because they were … well, smart.

The Pharisees were always certain to be in the crowd listening, but they very rarely understood and when they did, their reaction was typically one of anger.  Others walked away with a more fulfilled understanding of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, or how we ought to treat each other. Indeed, Jesus was aware that His words would not be heard by all as He explained this to St. Peter in Mark Chapter 4:

“To you it has been given to know the mystery of the Kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, And their sins be forgiven them.’” Mark 4:11-12.

I believe a message is only truly heard, if it is goal-relevant to the person. If I am thirsty, a Coca-Cola commercial may get my attention, but a car commercial will not. It makes sense, then, that those who were thirsty for the Kingdom of God, for the Love of God, they had ears to hear whereas others did not.

There’s no secret volume button you’re missing; no decoder ring. Christ’s stories have characters, layers, imagery… they are easy to place yourself in them, and hard to forget.

A master forgave his servant, the servant should have forgiven his fellow man in kind. Got it.

No matter what the prodigal son did, the Father welcomed him home with open arms and, in fact, rejoiced, at his repentance. Straight-Forward.

Being a good neighbor means your enemies too, like the Samaritan who helped the beaten stranger by the side of the road. Clear.

His messages are clear. Instead, it is our ears that may be closed. We know this because for the people who were thirsty, they left filled with the understanding of the indescribable. They left with sustenance.

We are in the season of Great Lent, and as we grow closer to Holy Week, I’m challenging myself to really meditate through whether I’ve made myself not just physically hungry (I think I mentioned ice cream earlier…), but also spiritually hungry. Have I gotten too far on automatic pilot and, as silly as it sounds, forgotten to ensure Christ’s message is still goal-relevant to my life?

As I leave you pondering that question, I’ll also say that I sincerely hope and pray you all have a blessed Holy Week and if you have young ones or serve young ones, please help yourself to any BtO’s Holy Week Resources. After all, Pascha is about New Life … a time where an old habit, a sin, a complacency can die so that we can be resurrected anew. Hopefully with better ears.

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Looking Ahead? 

Feel free to check out our Crossroads Curriculum for Teens or our Retreat Materials Collection.

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