January 14, 2024
The young Samuel discovers that the Lord is speaking to him. God wants to speak to you, too. But we need to listen. How?
Key Points
- What does “listening to God” really mean?
- What are practical ways to begin doing so?
- What if I don’t hear anything?
- What are the benefits?
- What about distractions?
This is a computer-generated transcription that has been included to make the homily searchable. It has not been verified by the author.
Then Eli understood that the Lord was calling the youth. So he said to Samuel, go to sleep. And if you are called reply, speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening. This passage is especially important for our little mission. And we come back to it often. And because it’s a good example of the need to listen to the Lord, this is the beginning of Samuel’s, great vocation as a prophet. But there’s a message in here, which is for all of us, and especially today, with all that’s going on today. It’s especially urgent that we put this into practice. And so, I’m laughing because I’m thinking; so he prays, speak, Lord, Your servant is listening. A lot of times our attitude and prayers more like, listen up, Lord, I’m talking to you, pay attention, you might want to take some notes because I have a list of things that I want to ask you. And so have you ever had the experience of not being listened to by anybody that you, that you deal with, who doesn’t really listen to you? And how frustrating that can be, especially if there’s something important that you want to share with them, something about to help them avoid maybe a serious problem, or something that’s important to you that you’d like to share. And so how do you feel when someone’s not listening to you? Does God ever have that experience with you? Has God had the experience with you, of not being listened to? How much unnecessary suffering we cause and how many opportunities we lose when we’re not listening to the Lord. So prayer is an opportunity to talk to God and that’s very important. He wants us to talk with Him and get things off our chest Open our hearts we need someone that we can talk to; there’s no one who can understand us like He can. But there is especially listening to the Lord. Learning to listen to the Lord. And so that’s what I want to be talking about. And this is a homily that is some homilies that, for me to call like, reference homilies because it’s not just for the people who are here now. But it’s a topic that often I often want to share with people. In fact, it’s very important in this Encounter with Jesus. And so I like to have a homily that I can point them to. So this so because I think there’s a key part of listening to the Lord, which is often misunderstood. Because when we say listening to the Lord, it doesn’t mean that you’re always going to hear something. Don’t be disappointed if you don’t hear something. Well, then what does listening to Lord mean? I think and this is this is the key point, I think what the key thing is that listening to Lord means is that we are seeking His will, seeking His will, seeking to know His will. So even if you don’t hear anything, that’s okay. The important thing is that you’re seeking His will. That’s the refrain from the Psalm today, Here I am, Lord, I come to do Your will. And so I want to give you two concrete steps that you can put into practice to help seek His will, listen to the Lord better. One is, and this is something all of us can do. One is simply dedicating time to Him. Because just like any human relationship, it needs time. And one thing we can do is dedicate some time to it. Dedicate some time regularly to the Lord, a little bit of time daily, in our daily program, in our daily schedule, and maybe at least once a week, a little bit of extended time. And especially if we’re going through very difficult situations, that’s when we need it the most. And we’re often tempted to avoid prayer in those moments, but that’s when we need it the most. The Lord said to St. Faustina; okay, so this is the second part. So the first part is giving a little bit of time. And again, that’s something that anybody can do. And the second part is, in that time, giving Him a little silence, a little silence. And so this is what the Lord said to St. Faustina, “strive for a life of recollection, so that you can hear My voice, which is so soft, that only recollected souls can hear it.” So notice, He says, strive, He doesn’t say achieve, He says strive, because sometimes our life can be very hectic. But the important thing is that we’re trying to be open to the Lord, trying to dedicate a little bit of time to Him a little bit quiet time, if possible, silent time. And the best we can, because sometimes, a mother with a lot of kids, sometimes that can be very challenging, but to try to have a little bit of time to be quiet with Him. So those are two practical things, taking time and giving a little bit of silence. And so because even if you don’t sense any response, there’s a lot that’s happening in this time. And one example I experience all the time, is people come to me with difficult problems, that I don’t know the answer to it. But I find often that if I just take some time, and say, like, do you mind if we take a moment to pray about it and just take a few moments of quiet prayer? A lot of times as I’m doing that, I don’t sense any response. I don’t sense anything. But as I then continue the conversation, a lot of times, it’s like an answer comes that I hadn’t thought of before. And I think that, just that act, of why is that act so powerful? Why is that simple act of trying to listen to the Lord so powerful, and because it’s an act of humility. It’s an act of recognizing that I don’t have all the answers. So that’s important. That’s an important step, an act of humility. But it’s also an act of trust. It’s an act that I believe that God does have the answers and that He wants to help me. And it’s an act of obedience, because I’m seeking to do, not my will, but His will. And ultimately, it’s an act of love, of love for the Lord. And so that simple act of just trying to listen to, and that’s something all of us have important decisions to make, or we have people coming to us looking for help. And so that’s something simple that we can do is just take a little bit of quiet time and say, Do you mind if we pray for a moment? And if you can’t say, Pray, you can say Do you mind if we just take a moment to think about this. But it’s the Holy Spirit can be very discreet, without you realizing it, He can come through that open door and help that situation. But we don’t always sense the result right away. When sometimes it might be a little bit later. And I’ll give you an example from my own life. This was when I was a freshman at Notre Dame, Notre Dame University. And I had already I was already sensing the call to the priesthood, but I wasn’t in a hurry to respond. I wanted to enjoy my four years of college; that’s supposed to be cool years, and then I would see about a seminary. But I remember in my freshman year, there’s these guys from the Opus Dei community, they began inviting me to their community. And then they began saying, Well, maybe I have a vocation at Opus Dei, and they were pretty insistent. And I didn’t think that was my vocation, but they were insisting so much. So I remember over the Christmas holiday, when I was back at home, I was praying to Lord, well, Lord, what do you want me to do? And it wasn’t because I was really anxious to do His will, it’s more I just want to get them off my back. And so I wanted to have some answer to give them. And so my motivation was not sublime motivation. But even with that, and I didn’t sense anything right away. I didn’t sense anything that day or the next week or the next month. It was several months later, right around, I think, right around Ash Wednesday, that I had an experience, an experience with our Blessed Mother that was life changing. And I wonder if it was the fact that I had, even with very mediocre motivation, but just kind of opened the door a little bit by asking that question, which had permitted or prepared my soul for those graces. And so the point I’m making is, you might not sense the answer right away. But just the fact that you’re trying to be open, makes a difference. And so God can speak in many different ways. I’ll give you another example from my own experience. When I was, this was when I was, in the 90s, I was in Nuevo Laredo, we had started, where we were sent to start a mission and myself and another priest, we’re starting a mission there in Nuevo Laredo, and so I was a young priest, and we threw ourselves into this mission, and the people are very responsive, there’s a lot of great people there and a lot to do, and this poor little mission. And so it was very motivating. And there’s a lot to do, but it was good work. But after a while, I began to feel like something in me was kind of pulling me back, it was kind of like, the image that came to my mind, like driving with the emergency brake on. Fortunately, I’ve had that experience too many times. So it’s like, like, something in me was pulling me back. And so after a while I said, Well, maybe the Lord is trying to tell me something here. So I finally got permission to make a five day retreat. And it was difficult to get that permission because there was so much to do, but finally got a permission. And so I made this retreat. And as I flew to a place where there’s a priest, I knew is a nice quiet place in the woods. And I talked with him several times and had a lot of time, quiet time, to pray. And at the end of the retreat, I still don’t know what am I supposed to do. No answer. And so I’m on a flight back. And this is so disappointing. You know, the time I spent, made all this effort to make this whole retreat, and no response. And so I get to the airport. And my superior picks me up, and we’re at the baggage claim. And that’s what waiting there is, oh, while you were gone, we got a call from France. That’s where the mother house of our community was, and he said they’re asking whether you could come and be the guest master, at the novitiate house, the novice house. Our community at that time had about 30 different houses spread throughout the world. And if you had asked me which house, I wanted to go to, I would have said, well, I don’t know which one I want to go to but I know the one I don’t want to go to. And guess which one it was? It was it was this house. And they weren’t ordering me to go, they were asking me would I go. Oh, Lord, I guess this must be you’re doing because this is the one place I didn’t want to go. And I guess this is the response. You know, this is the response. And so I accepted. And it later became apparent why that was so important because I won’t go into all the details here just because of lack of time. But it was there was a circumstance that no one else could, no one could have known at that time, which was very, it was very important that I be there at that time. But my point is that I made this retreat, wanting to get an answer from the Lord. And the Lord didn’t speak to me in the retreat. He spoke to me through the circumstances, and to my community and my superiors. And so He speaks in many different ways. You know, He speaks through scripture, like we had today, we had the scripture from St. Paul, talking about the body, the body is for the Lord. The body is the temple of the Holy Spirit and how important that message is in our society today. He speaks through the Church, the Church’s mission, is not to create new ideas or to adapt or to adapt to the ideas of the world, but it’s to transmit faithfully the message of Jesus Christ. He can speak through nature. And that’s why the mission, that’s why we sought for a natural spot here because nature is such a powerful way. So a lot of people experience that here at nature. And it speaks to different circumstances of our lives that often God speaks through circumstances if we’re attentive to that. He can also speak interiorly, interior, he can give us interior light, or inspirations or place something on our heart. For instance, when I was mentioned, as friendly as driving with the emergency brake, it was because I was sensing I wasn’t setting a clear word. But I was sensing something from the Lord, which was saying like, this is good, but it’s not what I’m calling you to do now. So the Lord speaks in many different ways. He can speak in what’s called locutions, which is God giving an interior message, to a person. And I want to share one example, which a friend of ours, Bill Wiley, who’s here, gave me permission to share this and we actually even put it in our newsletter, but I think it’s, it’s a good example worth hearing. So, this is Bill writing his account. He said, I had recently moved an old car out of my workshop behind the house. I was in the process of cleaning out the shop, and making it usable again, after about 15 years of rats, mice and maybe a possum or two. hot, dusty, silent solitary work. Cardboard boxes originally intended to store nails, bolts and what all, had raised generations of critters. I was almost finished with one such box, dirt, droppings and ancient rat’s nest material, a good inch deep, still harbored three tiny one quarter inch brass wood screws. I had already salvaged 11 of them. Jesus broke the silence. Throw the whole box away, He said. Not what you expect. God to say. In my mind, in my mind, only I heard it. But it’s clear and understandable as any words my ears had ever heard. Can you imagine being directly addressed by Jesus Christ? And the milliseconds that it took to answer? Simultaneous thoughts created pandemonium in my mind. He was speaking directly and clearly to me. Just what I had been praying for every morning. Father, Moses had suggested getting out of bed 20 minutes early every day to visit with Jesus. I was good at talking. But it really seemed like a one-sided conversation. So for several weeks, I’ve been asking for clear and understandable communication, clear and understandable communication. Here it was, exactly what I had been asking for. I answered excitedly. Just a minute, Lord, there’s only three more. I like this because I recognized myself and this account. He spoke again. Throw the whole box away. You don’t need them. You’ve already gotten some. Again, still excited, I answered. It’ll only take a minute Lord. I couldn’t find them. Patiently, he told me a third time. Throw the whole box away. You haven’t used any of those in 30 years. A third time I answered, only to more to go, Lord. It won’t take long. During this clear and very understandable conversation, just what I asked for. I knew the whole time. This is exactly what I asked him to do for me. And I’m not doing what he’s telling me. I should be obeying Him. But I can find the other screws and they won’t be wasted. It won’t even take a minute. He left me digging in the filth. I found the screws. Sounds like a funny story, doesn’t it? Not to me? How stupid can I be? Three times in a row? I told the Almighty God, not your will, but mine be done. How stupid can I be? And so you might think God’s not going to tell us if we need to look for screws or not. But it’s not about the screws, right? It given us a concrete lesson of obedience. And in concrete things and our concrete task. So I think that’s a good example of God, even sometimes giving us clear indications. A lot of people tell, I hear a lot of people say, I wish God would just tell me what to do. Right? Have you thought that if God would just tell me what to do? But then I see when God does tell people what to do. And when He tells me sometimes what to do. Oh, it’s not always so easy, right? Sometimes we don’t want God to tell us what to do. So that’s the point of listening to the Lord. And of course we need prudence and discernment. Because we have to discern. Sometimes we should make sure that Jesus says that it’s according to the Gospel according to the faith of the Church and, and one sign that the gospel gives is are the fruits good. Are they fruits of the Holy Spirit? And sometimes it’s helpful to get spiritual direction when there’s some things which are not very clear. And just one final practical note, don’t worry about distractions. So when you try to be silent distractions will come, that’s normal. It’s not sinful to have distractions. The important thing is when you realize you’re having distractions, just try to turn back to the Lord. And each time you do that, you’re winning a victory for Him. So don’t be discouraged by distractions. So just in conclusion, remember, that phrase, speak, Lord, Your servant is listening. I’d like to say, speak, Lord, Your servant is finally listening. Lord, you have a very small window of opportunity, maybe about five minutes before I’m distracted again. So hurry up and speak. And the key point I wanted to make was that listening to the Lord means; think to yourself what is listening to the Lord mean; it means what I said earlier, it means seeking His will. And so with Samuel, the young man Samuel that we had, who becomes a great prophet, and especially with our Blessed Mother, the great example of a young woman who was open to listening to the Lord, during this Mass, right now during this Mass after this homily and throughout this Mass, you also can say, “speak, Lord, Your servant is listening.” Amen.
KEYWORDS / PHRASES:
1 Samuel 3:3-10, 19
Psalms 40:2,4,7-8, 8-9-10
1 Corinthians 6:13-15, 17-20