The prophet Elias listens for the Lord:
“Then word came to him to go out and stand there in the Lord’s presence; the Lord God himself would pass by. A wind there was, rude and boisterous, that shook the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, the whisper of a gentle breeze.” (1 Kings 19:11-12)
You would think after a quarter century of going to Confession and examinations of conscience, God might have revealed to me all of my faults and errors.
But no: thankfully, and I really mean thankfully, He forever keeps me humble.
While reading the excellent book by Fulton Sheen Go to Heaven, this passage hit me over the head like a hammer:
“For meditation the ear of the should is more important than the tongue … Most people commit the same mistake with God that they do with their friends: they do all the talking. … No one would rush into a physician’s office, rattle off all the symptoms, and then dash away without waiting for a diagnosis; no one would tune in the radio and immediately leave the room. It is every bit as stupid to ring God’s doorbell and then run away. The Lord hears us more readily than we suspect; it is our listening to Him that needs to be improved. When people complain that their prayers are not heard by God, what often has happened is that they did not wait to hear His answer.”
Archbishop Sheen describes me to a T.
Reflection
Have I been doing all the talking in my prayers? Am I waiting in vain to hear God’s voice come to me as an earthquake, when He is there for the hearing everywhere around me? Am I listening to my family, friends, and neighbors attentively?
(Painting: The Prophet Elijah Awakened in the Desert by an Angel, by Giovanni Lanfranco.)
