Dear Christ the King Family,
Listen. God the Father asks us to listen to his Son in today’s gospel. When Saint Benedict wrote his rule for monasteries, he began with the word ‘listen.’ This Lent as we refocus on our life of prayer, we are reminded of the key word: listen. How can we properly listen to God speaking to the depths of our hearts? The readings give us insight.
We must be able to separate ourselves from the familiar and every day to really listen. Abraham is called by God to leave his father’s house. Abram leaves everything that he grew up with and was familiar with so that he can truly listen to the messages that God will unfold for him for the rest of his life. Jesus takes Peter, James, and John in today’s gospel up a mountain away from the crowds and away from all the distractions that have been surrounding them so they can just be with Jesus. Paul’s letter to Timothy says that our growth and holiness does not come about by our own works and efforts but by God’s grace. Grace is God’s gift of Himself. The smartest thing we can do is simply receive it. We first receive it by hearing God’s offer of himself with the ears of our hearts in faith.
In this busy world, where we have so many responsibilities, it may seem strange to us that God is just telling us to take time out. Trust God enough to give him your heart for five minutes in silent listening. Perhaps one of the things you can commit to not just this Lent but for the rest of your life is to take 5 minutes out of your time and to just listen to God in the silence of your heart. While you most likely will not hear words, what may happen over time is that you experience God’s presence in the silence. God’s main message is his love. God wants to whisper to you how much he loves you. He desires you to know his love.
It is good to take 5 minutes to just listen to God in silence. God wills this for us so that we can never lose our focus on why we really pray: it’s to be with God. This is a foretaste of how we will spend eternity in heaven. Meanwhile, this foretaste gives us the strength to be able to accomplish our responsibilities in this life. While we have many things to do, we Christians are first called to listen.
God Bless,
Deacon Andy Oross
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