answer the call

If today you hear His voice, harden not your heart” Psalm 95 calls us to open our hearts, to listen with a willing and honest ear to hear God’s voice. How often do you hear God’s voice? If we listen – really listen – we will hear God speak to us every day, in a myriad of ways, through many different voices.

Seldom does He speak in that deep theatrical voice we are presented with in film and theater. He certainly has never spoken to me that way. It would be interesting if He did but I won’t hold my breath! More often than not, God speaks with a voice that is difficult to hear above the clamor and noise that surrounds us. His voice is often just “a tiny whispering sound” [1 Kgs 19:12] that requires our devoted attention to hear it.

We are so tuned into all the noise that emanates from the plethora of technological gadgetry available to us that it is small wonder we seldom find a moment’s peace. Silence and solitude are becoming increasingly rare commodities and the noise has become so loud and pervasive that one cannot begin to think!

But no matter how loud the noise, the reality is that God is speaking to us. It is like the philosophical question: “If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it,, does it make a sound?” It is a question concerning reality and our perception of it. Rene Descartes proposed “Cogito ergo sum – I think, therefore I am.” Unfortunately, for many of us, Descartes got it backwards, for one cannot think one’s self into existence. He should have said “I am, therefore I think.” To think presupposes the reality of one’s prior creation and existence. To think means to use one’s mind, to search for understanding, to seek out truth. To think requires a willingness to listen with silent stillness to hear the voice of God.

God exists and he speaks to each of us every day. He speaks to us in so many ways; all we have to do is (to paraphrase Timothy Leary) “turn off, tune in, and listen up.” We may never know when or in what voice God will speak to us. We may hear His voice anytime and anywhere. It may be a message on a billboard as you pass it by or it may be a word or a sentence that you read in a book, magazine, or newspaper. You may hear God speak through a stranger, a chance encounter, a conversation overheard or a discussion over dinner with family and friends.

The truth is that God is seldom silent while we seldom listen. God is calling. Ring! Ring! Why not answer His call?

About the author: Deacon Chuck

Deacon Chuck was ordained into the permanent diaconate on September 17, 2011, in the ministry of service to the Diocese of Reno and assigned to St. Albert the Great Catholic Community. He currently serves as the parish bulletin editor and website administrator. Deacon Chuck continues to serve the parish of Saint Albert the Great Catholic Community of the Diocese of Reno, Nevada. He is the Director of Adult Faith Formation and Homebound Ministries for the parish, conducts frequent adult faith formation workshops, and is a regular homilist. He currently serves as the bulletin editor for the parish bulletin. He writes a weekly column intended to encompass a broad landscape of thoughts and ideas on matters of theology, faith, morals, teachings of the magisterium and the Catholic Church; they are meant to illuminate, illustrate, and catechize the readers and now number more than 230 articles. His latest endeavor is "Colloqui: A journal for restless minds", a weekly journal of about 8 pages similar in content to bulletin reflections. All his reflections, homilies, commentaries, and Colloqui are posted and can be found on his website: http://deaconscorner.org. Comments are always welcome and appreciated. He is the author of two books: "The Voices of God: hearing God in the silence" which offers the reader insights into how to hear God’s voice through all of the noise that surrounds us; and "Echoes of Love: Effervescent Memories" which through a combination of prose and verse provides the reader with a wonderful journey on the way to discovering forever love. He regularly speaks to groups of all ages and size and would welcome the opportunity to speak to your group.

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