How to hear the voice of God: Homily for Sunday, January 14, 2024

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We tend to place action is the top priority. But how do we know what to do if we don’t listen to God? Today’s readings provide a clue to how to hear the voice of God.

How to hear the voice of God

It seems that God has a tendency to speak when people are asleep. God speaks to Samuel when he’s asleep. Joseph, twice, hears the voice of God in his dreams. But what’s really important is when God speaks, do we know that it is God who is speaking?

As we begin this church year with a focus ahead in terms of our own life, we have to ask ourselves, do we really recognize the voice of God? Because that’s what’s really going on here in both of the readings that we have.

Samuel is a person of very interesting story. His mother Hannah and his father were barren, which was a point of tremendous shame in the culture of the day. And Hannah goes desperate to the temple to pray and is crying and is speaking out to God.

And this very Eli that we see in the first reading, he thinks she’s drunk because he can’t really hear what she’s saying. And she must have been making quite a scene. But it’s in that brokenness that God speaks to her and in turn to her husband.

And Samuel is born. It’s a very interesting thing though, because despite the fact they had gone their whole lives without children, when Samuel is born, his mother takes him back to the temple and gives him to Eli. The very gift she received from God, the gift of her son Samuel, she then in turn gives back to God.

And Samuel is raised by Eli, which is why he’s here in the middle of the night. And God speaks and Samuel is very logical. Well, I heard a voice in the middle of the night. It must be Eli, so he goes to Eli and says, here I am.

You called me not once, not twice, but three times before Eli finally figures out that the lad is being called by God. And we know that Samuel has a privileged position. Because it’s Samuel who helps God to make clear to the people that even when they reject him, he will continue to love them. Even though they rejected God as their king, he will still be with them through his anointed Saul and ultimately through his anointed David, from whom comes the Messiah, Jesus.

The question for us as we start the beginning of this year is, how do we recognize the voice of God in our lives? See, I think the church in the United States needs to face some hard realities. And here’s one example of what I mean. We had a Dominican friar who sent out to our listserv, which is where we communicate with all the other friars of the province, an article about how Nigeria is the most dangerous place to be a Catholic in the world. Unbelievable martyrdom is occurring in Nigeria.

And it’s interesting that there’s that backdrop. People willing to die for their faith because Jesus has made such a difference in their life. Now to be sure, that’s always the case with martyrs. That’s why we call martyrs on the seed of Christians, the beginning of churches.

Martyr means to witness, and they are witnessing to their faith in a very powerful way. And then there’s the statement the bishops needed to make in this country that said, heaven forbid we have to go to Mass twice in two days. We have to go to Mass for the fourth Sunday of Advent, the 24th, and for Christmas, the 25th. People willing to die for their faith because it’s so precious to them, it’s so valuable to them. And we who are saying, do I really have to go twice?

I think it’s a damning thing in our country. Now I realize there’s a lot of things that go on that cause people to make decisions. That’s not my point. But my point is that the whole purpose of the liturgical year, the whole purpose of what we do when we worship is to deepen our relationship with Jesus.

And if we’re going to have a deeper relationship with Jesus, then we need to know what does it take to put ourselves in the presence of God so that we can hear that voice. You know, we say a lot that prayer is very important, and it is. That’s a true statement.

But I find that what we don’t do often enough is to teach people to pray. We know it’s important, but we don’t really know how to help people to pray. So I’d like to offer some suggestions today, practical, concrete suggestions that might help in your prayer life and in mine.

The first, and I get no commission on this, although Father Mike Schmitz, if you are ever listening to my homilies on my website and in my podcast and you want to send a little compensation for my ad here to St. Albert the Great Parish, we’ll take it. He has a podcast called The Bible in a Year.

When he first started The Bible in a Year in 1922, for the month of January 2022, it was the top rated podcast on all of iTunes, not the top rated religious podcast, the top rated podcast on all of iTunes. For the rest of that year, it was the top rated religious podcast on all of iTunes.

And then last year when they just decided to keep it going, in January 2023, it was the top rated podcast in all of iTunes. And then all of last year, it was the top rated religious podcast on all of iTunes. Here’s what it is. It’s really simple, but I have to say I listened to it for two years. I haven’t started again. I’m kind of saying, okay, maybe it’s run its course for me.

But it’s about 20 to 25 minutes a day. Father Mike Schmitz reads a section of the Bible. It’s orderly. So in a year, hence the name, you will have heard the entire Bible. Each section is introduced by actually someone who lives in St. Paul. Is that the right direction? No, St. Paul. Oh, it is that way. Okay, good. I never know what direction I’m facing.

Anyway, Jeff Cavins, he teaches at the seminary. He does all kinds of really good Bible materials to help people to understand and study. And he introduces kind of each major section of the Bible. I’d encourage you to look it up.

There’s something about hearing the word of God, first of all, that is very powerful, more powerful than I expected. And secondly, the commentary he gives, even if you don’t always agree with him, it’s not in your face. It’s not harsh. It’s true. And he’s kind of kind of an easy way. He’d be the kind of guy he and Jeff Cavins both were. If you wanted to go to Merlin’s and have a little beer with him, I think both of them would sit down with you. Okay, so I would encourage you to do that. That’s one possibility. Hear the word of God. That’s how God spoke to us, right? His word.

Secondly, we need to cultivate silence. We live in a very noisy culture. I am so easily distracted. I don’t know if I have ADHD, but boy, there are days it feels like it because there’s just about anything could distract me if I let it. There’s so much noise.

But at the heart of what it means to be Dominican is silence. You know, Dominicans are associated for their study. Wonderful, great, tremendous. It is very Dominican. Dominicans are associated for the many things that we do. But at the heart of it, we’re active contemplatives. And contemplative is the noun.

Contemplative is what we are. Our activity comes from our contemplation. So cultivate some silent prayer in your life. Now I know that’s harder for some of you than it is for me. I have many opportunities for silence in my life. Heck, I can come over here anytime I want. We’ve got a chapel and the priory. It’s easy for me. When I choose not to be silent because I’ve chosen not to be silent, shame on me.

But find some silence. Find a place where you put yourself ready and open to the presence of God. And think about the primary way we know we’re in the presence of God. It’s right over here. It’s the tabernacle. Body, blood, soul, divinity. This is Jesus. We don’t have to doubt. We know that this is Jesus. We are placing ourselves in the presence of Jesus.

When we come to mass, we know that it is Jesus who becomes present on this altar. And when we can recognize Jesus, body, blood, soul, and divinity on this altar, it becomes easier for us to recognize Christ in everybody else. Because we know what we’re looking for. We know Jesus. And so think about making adoration a part of your life.

Lastly, take every day, and this is a Jesuit thing. I know that may seem out of place. Here’s a Dominican talking about the Jesuits, but I think it’s really a great practice, the examen. You know, the Jesuit school near us where I taught in St. Louis, maybe the other one does too. I don’t know, but I know the one near us did. They end every day with an exam for their students.

And it’s a two-fold question. One, where was God present in my day today? And when did I respond to Him lovingly and grace because of His grace? And where did I choose to ignore God when I saw His presence? It’s both. It’s thanking God for blessings. It’s asking God for help and mercy and forgiveness. This is a wonderful opportunity this new year, because when we place ourselves and get ready to be in a situation where we can hear the voice and the Word of God, then, and only then, are we able to say, speak, Lord, Your servant is listening.

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