4th Monday of Easter

 

 

Is it really possible to hear the voice of the Lord? Well, Moses heard God speaking from the burning bush. Samuel heard God calling him three times. St. Joseph heard God in dreams to take Mary as His wife, to flee into Egypt and return from Egypt. St. Faustina heard Him in a vision so clearly that she could describe to an artist the picture he asked to be painted of Him. The first three involve Divine Revelation, while the last private revelation. The first three we are obliged to believe, the latter not.

These stories may seem fantastic to us. But if you stop and think about it, you have probably had times when you’ve experienced God’s presence and sensed that He has a message for you. These senses—even if fleeting—show that we really do have spiritual instincts and that they can be cultivated. It might be easier to understand if we start thinking of simple human instincts. For instance, a mother may be in a room full of crying toddlers, but when her little one starts to cry, she knows the voice immediately and springs into action. A basketball player instinctively knows how to control his arm, his jump, and his aim as he throws the ball through the net. With practice, these responses become automatic. We get to a level where we are confident whenever we engage these instincts. In a similar way, with practice and experience, we can become better at sensing Jesus is speaking to us.

Practice listening to the Lord during the day today—you may be surprised at how available He is. In fact a good foundation of prayer and Scripture reading can prepare you to recognize His presence in the people around you and in His creation. Gradually, the question shifts from if God will speak to you to how He will speak and what He will say.

So listen for God’s voice in the child crying for his parent’s attention. Be ready as he whispers to your heart the words to say to a friend who is sick. Hear his encouragement in the little successes and failures of life.

Don’t worry if you don’t “hear” anything right away. The more you practice, the more you will recognize the voice of Jesus. The more you spend time with Him, the stronger your spiritual instincts will become and we can ask the Virgin Mary to help us to listen and pray, after all, She lived with Jesus for 30 years and knows Him better than anyone else.