How does God speak to you?

How does God speak to you?  This has been a question that has been on my mind a lot lately, especially considering that I haven't really thought much about this question until I started discerning the Priesthood.  You see, I've always been kind of cynical of people who always go around saying "God spoke to me, and He told me that..."  because I guess I've never thought of God as working that way.  But I've had some experiences recently that have kind of given me some different insight into this topic, so I kind of wanted to share, and see what others thought about this.

Recently, I've had several experiences where something has been on my mind that is troubling me, and for no apparent reason, a scripture verse will pop into my head, or a song will come on to the radio that is exactly the answer to the question I was asking myself.  I can't explain it, but there is a sense of comfort that comes from knowing that if I am willing to listen, the answers are there.  They may not come in the way I expect, but they will come.

I think that all too often, many people (myself included) expect God to speak to us in big ways- we want to hear that booming voice coming down from the clouds, and God saying "This is my will for you!"  But if there's anything I've learned over this past year, it's that God doesn't work that way.  Sometimes he speaks to us in out thoughts.  Sometimes it is through the words of others, whether it be a friend, parent, brother, sister, Priest, or anyone else we come into contact with.  Sometimes it can be through a song that we hear, or even  something that we see.  Sometimes it can just be a feeling.

The experience that really drove this home for me happened at the Easter Vigil this year.  I was serving, which meant that I got to be more involved in the service, everything from singing the Exsultet, to witnessing the Baptisms of the people who were becoming Catholic.  It was an incredible feeling to not only see the smiles on the faces of the newly Baptized, but to also feel the Holy Spirit move during the Confirmations.  It was enough to move me to tears, and it is the little reminders like this that are the greatest reassurances of God's presence in our lives.

So I guess if there's anything I've learned, it's not not always think of God speaking in big ways, but to look instead in the stillness, for it is there that God speaks to us.  May we all learn to not be afraid of this stillness, so that we too may learn to listen for the voice of God.

Limbo

Our Priest shared this at the Good Friday service today.  Just wanted to pass it along.

Limbo
by Sister Mary Ada

The ancient greyness shifted
Suddenly and thinned
Like mist upon the moors
Before a wind.
An old, old prophet lifted
A shining face and said:
“He will be coming soon.
The Son of God is dead;
He died this afternoon.”

A murmurous excitement stirred
All souls.
They wondered if they dreamed –
Save one old man who seemed
Not even to have heard.

And Moses, standing,
Hushed them all to ask
If any had a welcome song prepared.
If not, would David take the task?
And if they cared
Could not the three young children sing
The Benedicite, the canticle of praise
They made when God kept them from perishing
In the fiery blaze?

A breath of spring surprised them,
Stilling Moses’ words.
No one could speak, remembering
The first fresh flowers,
The little singing birds.
Still others thought of fields new ploughed
Or apple trees
All blossom-boughed.
Or some, the way a dried bed fills
With water
Laughing down green hills.
The fisherfolk dreamed of the foam
On bright blue seas.
The one old man who had not stirred
Remembered home.

And there He was
Splendid as the morning sun and fair
As only God is fair.
And they, confused with joy,
Knelt to adore
Seeing that He wore
Five crimson stars
He never had before.

No canticle at all was sung
None toned a psalm, or raised a greeting song,
A silent man alone
Of all that throng
Found tongue –
Not any other.
Close to His heart
When the embrace was done,
Old Joseph said,
“How is Your Mother,
How is Your Mother, Son?”

Holy Week is here!

This week, we as a Church enter into the holiest week of the Church year,  The week in which we commemorate the Passion and Death of Christ, and prepare to celebrate the Easter Mysteries.  This week begins with Palm Sunday, and ends with the Easter Triduum.

As I was sitting in Mass this morning, watching people make crosses out of their palm branches, I recalled the words of one Priest, who jokingly referred to Palm Sunday as "Arts and Crafts Sunday," since so many people would be making crosses out of the Palms during Mass.  But why do we carry the palm branches on Palm Sunday?  The symbolism in the use of palm branches can be found in the Gospels, where mention was made that the followers were placing branches on the road in front of Jesus, and shouting "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!"  The palm branch, then, is a symbol not only of Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem, but ultimately a symbol of his triumph over death, since he entered into Jerusalem to suffer, and be nailed to the Cross.

As I was reflecting on the Crucifixion the other day, The thought that came to my mind was that many of the modern depictions of the Crucifixion are "too nice."  One only needs to look at the Crucifixes in most Catholic Churches to see this.  We see Jesus, portrayed with maybe a few drops of blood coming from the crown of thorns, some blood on his hands and feet from the nails, and then the lance wound in his side, and that's about it.  The temptation is to try to lessen the horror that took place, and try to make it seem like the Crucifixion was "not all that bad."  I can remember that when Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" came out, many people complained that it was "too violent" and that he went "way over the top" in portraying the sufferings of Jesus.  In all reality, though, Mel Gibson's portrayal of the events surrounding the Crucifixion is probably quite accurate.  Look at it this way:  Crucifixion was the most horrible way to be put to death, and Jesus was not just crucified:  he was beaten, mocked, crowned with thorns, and fell carrying the cross not once, not twice, but three times.  He would have been bleeding from the marks of the scourging, bleeding from the thorns that had been shoved so mercilessly into his head, bleeding from the wounds he would have no doubt incurred when falling down, both from the ground, and from the cross landing on him.  When he finally reached Calvary, and his clothing, his last remaining bit of dignity was taken from him, He must have been in agony as the force of his garments being removed ripped open his wounds again.  As he was nailed to the cross, and then the cross was stood up, he could hear the jeers of the crowd mocking him, and telling him to "save himself, if he was indeed the Son of God."

And yet, he still had the courage to suffer.  And when Jesus was on the Cross, Every single person who believes in him was on His mind.  He could see all of us, and he knew that he was suffering for us, so that we would not have to pay the price of our own sin.  There is a mediation that I once heard a Priest in the Byzantine Rite reference, which states "This you suffered willingly, This you suffered, just for me."  What a powerful image of the grace and mercy of God, knowing that God loved us so much that he sent his Son to die for us, so that we all might know eternal life with God!

My prayer for this Holy Week is that as we walk with Jesus and commemorate his Passion and death, we can all attain a greater understanding of the Paschal Mystery, and celebrate the Easter Mysteries with great joy.  Remember the words of John 3:16:  "for God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, so that those who believe in Him might not perish, but may have eternal life."

Christ Crucified, have mercy on us.  Amen.