Who are the blessed in our eyes? In the Jewish culture, it is from whom you descended (for a man) and to whom you gave birth (for a woman) - that determined your blessedness. That is why in the Magnificat, Mary says, "from now onwards all generations will call me blessed" (Lk 1:48).

However, Jesus, not only acknowledged what the woman in the crowd said about His mother Mary, being blessed to have been His mother, but pushed the boundary of the Jewish understanding of blessedness to a new horizon. He said, more blessed are those who "hear the word of God and keep it". Whom do we know who is more blessed as to "hear and obey"? Mary of course! She not only heard the word of God but obeyed it, when she said to the angel Gabriel (at the annunciation) - "let what you have said be done to me" (Lk 1:38).

The Greek word for "obey" (phylassein) carries the meaning of "guard" or "value greatly". So, when we obey God, we are saying to God that we "guard" and "value greatly" whatever God has spoken to us.

Jesus takes this obedience to God's word further by saying, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the Word of God and put it into practice" (Lk 8:21). To be in Jesus' family is to "hear" God's Word and "practise it."

May we seek always to hear God's word and keep it!