Thursday of the Sixteenth Week in Ordinary Time

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Today's readings invite us to reflect on a profound reality: God's unwavering love and our human tendency to stray. In our first reading, the prophet Jeremiah speaks a message from the Lord to Jerusalem, recalling the 'devotion of your youth, how you loved me as a bride, following me in the desert, in a land unsown.' What a beautiful image of early faithfulness, of a pure, trusting love! But then, sadly, the Lord laments, 'Two evils have my people done: they have forsaken me, the source of living waters; They have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water.'

Think about that image for a moment: forsaking the living waters, the very source of life, for broken cisterns that cannot hold water. It’s a powerful metaphor for chasing after things that ultimately leave us empty, isn't it? We often seek fulfillment in transient things, forgetting the true, inexhaustible source of joy and peace.

And in the Gospel, Jesus speaks in parables, explaining to his disciples why some understand and others do not. He says, 'Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.' He laments that many 'look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand,' having closed their eyes and hardened their hearts. This isn't about intellectual capacity, but about a willingness to open one's heart to God's truth, to truly see and hear the living water that Jesus offers.

Five weeks ago, our dear Benjamin Vo entered into eternal life. We remember Ben today, a young man whose boundless curiosity and brilliant mind led him to explore the cutting edge of technology, from AI to cloud infrastructure. He was fascinated by how things worked, always seeking to understand the deeper logic and systems of the world. He was a true 'photocopy' of his father in ambition and intellect.

But Ben's brilliance wasn't just about knowledge; it was paired with a gentle soul and a deep capacity for joy, especially when sharing his passions. His love for aviation, for instance, and his cherished ritual of 'airport spotting' with his father in cities around the world… that was a source of pure, shared delight. He knew how to find joy in the simple, yet profound, connections of life, in the wonder of the world around him.

Benjamin, in his own way, had eyes that saw and ears that heard. He found joy in the 'living waters' of shared experience and family love, not in broken cisterns. For his parents, Alan and Thao, for his brother Ryan, and for all his aunts, uncles, and loved ones, the void he left is immense. It is natural to feel lost, to wonder where the living water is amidst the sorrow. But today's readings remind us that the source of living waters, the fountain of life, is always with the Lord. And Ben, in his gentle spirit and capacity for joy, truly saw and heard the goodness of that life given by God.

To everyone carrying a heavy cross, to every family enduring loss, to every child who is suffering, whether you are here with us or tuning in from afar: God sees your pain. He is the source of living waters, not broken cisterns. He longs for you to open your hearts, to see His light, and to hear His comforting voice. He welcomes you, sees you, and holds you in His unwavering love. May we find strength in this truth, trusting that Benjamin now rests in the eternal fountain of life, interceding for us all.