How does one know if one has a DULL mind?

"This people will listen and listen, but not understand;

they will look and look, but not see,

because their minds are dull,

and they have stopped up their ears

and have closed their eyes.

 Gospel of the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time-
Parable of the Sower Matthew 13: 1-23

Understanding the mystery of God, the mystery of Life, does require a CREATIVE mind!!! What a fact! Perhaps, I must not sound surprised but to say that, "Yes, we do have many dull people around!"

Maybe, to put ourselves to the test to see if our minds are dull, let us see if any of us can get the wisdom from the statements made by Antoni Gaudi (started the Sagrada Familia famous monument in Spain) and by Pope Benedict on Antoni Gaudi;

• Pope Benedict 16 remarked, "At a time when man claims to be able to live with his back turned towards God, as though he no longer had anything to say to Him, the consecration of this church of the Sagrada Familia is an event of great significance. Through his work, Gaudi shows us that God is the true measure of man; that the secret of true originality consists, as he himself said, in returning to the beginning, which is God. Gaudi, opening his spirit to God, was capacle of creating in this city a space of beauty, faith and hope which leads one to an encounter with He who is truth and beauty itself."
• "Life is love and love is sacrifice," Antoni would emphasize. "If a household shows vitality, it is because someone is sacrificing. It is sometimes a servant..."
• "The poor," Antoni would say, "must always find a welcome in the Church, which is an expression of Christian charity."
• "The portal must be large enough," Antoni explained, "not for the individual man, but for all humanity, because all have a place in the heart of their Creator."

To be honest, it does take me some seconds to digest the deep thoughts made by Antoni and the Pope. Maybe, some common comments that will be made by unbelievers are " what bull-shit!", "What??!!", "I don't agree on sacrifice!", "I don't get it!"

So, at times when a friend of mine or a stranger comes to me and says, "I do not believe in God", "I am an 'atheist'", "I believe in 'something', but not God." Very often I just give the friend or the stranger a friendly smile. Because, in life, personally I fell that it is not a matter if you believe IN A GOD- but more importantly if you get the whole idea, or a little idea, of the mystery of God! Believing is one thing, anyone on the street can claim that "I believe!" But, to get the whole idea of the mystery of God we need a creative mind- a mind that is open to possibilities, a mind that is able to be shaped, a mind that is made of flesh not stones, a mind that is openned to adventure and discoveries.

In Catholicism, we as a Church believe that each of us are a pilgrim people. We on earth are making a journey towards our formal beginning; our beginning with God before Sin. Therefore, I am never surprised if there are those who claim themselves as 'atheist', 'communist', 'religious', 'believer', 'church goer'...Very important is each of us with a creative mind, need to discover for ourselves the mystery of God- the mystery of Salvation!

Happy discovery mates!!!