Monday, November 13, 2023
Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin
(click here to listen to or read today’s scriptures)
Listen now, speak later
Wisdom is a kindly spirit, yet she acquits not the blasphemer of his guilty lips; because God is the witness of his inmost self, the sure observer of his heart, and the listener to his tongue. The Spirit of the Lord fills the world, is all-embracing, and knows what man says.
So, as we roam the earth seeking out our personal “stuff,” as George Carlin called it, our words and thoughts are not unknown to our Father, our God, our Source and Destination in heaven. We are never alone.
It might seem like we are. My mind is filled with desires of all kinds, for the Illini to win, for Margaret and I to be healthy both today and tomorrow, for pineapple sherbet later on today, for for for for for …  but lately Ron Rolheiser shared the idea that rather than talking to ourselves, how about if we talk to God instead? If I remember the “all-embracing Spirit of the Lord” around me and within me, I’ll talk to Him. Talk to Her.
The great spiritual writer Meister Eckhart wrote: “There is nothing in the world that resembles God as much as silence.”
Why would God be silent? Why, so he can listen, of course. Last week our PCP Dr. Chang said he chose doctoring because he has always been curious about people. Rather than coming into an appointment full of answers and full of himself, he opens his eyes and ears and wants to hear from his patient about what might happen next.
Sounds like God, I think.
And I think we do well when we too are quiet with each other, talking mostly to God.
Silence does speak louder than words, and more deeply. We experience this already now in different ways: When we are separated by distance or death from loved ones, we can still be with them in silence; when we are divided from other sincere persons through misunderstanding, silence can provide the place where we can still be together; when we stand helpless before another’s suffering, silence can be the best way of expressing our empathy; and when we have sinned and have no words to restore things to their previous wholeness, in silence a deeper word can speak and let us know that, in the end, all will be well and every manner of being will be well. It’s the language of heaven and it is already deep inside of us, beckoning us, inviting us to deeper intimacy with everything. – Ron Rolheiser
In school we learn most about writing, a lot about speaking and very little about listening. When we grow up what we need most – to listen – has to be learned from the ground up. Many of us just don’t take the trouble.
Author of The Road Less Traveled, Scott Peck knows “you cannot truly listen to anyone and do anything else at the same time.” All the more reason to talk to God instead of yourself. Because God, who waits patiently for his turn, speaks out of wisdom and love. He knows me better than I know myself.
Like this, for example:
If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you.
Listen, soak the puzzle’s meaning in, and say, “Ah!”
(Wisdom 1, Psalm 139, Philippians 2, Luke 17)
(posted at www.davesandel.net)
#
