Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, A - The Language of God_081323

Deacon Tom Writes,

The Language of God

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A

Elijah is awestruck to realize that God presented himself in the “tiny whispering sound.” After hearing this sound Elijah “hid his face in his cloak.” Perhaps this is why so many of us struggle with our spirituality today. It is so difficult for us to find quiet space and idle time in our busy lives. We have so much coming at us during our waking hours. We feel “bombarded at times. Technology has delivered so many devices to entertain us 24/7. There is no “free” time; there is no shortage of things to do. More than ever before, we have to make a conscious decision to seek out a quiet place and set ourselves apart from the rapid pace of life. I don’t see any other way of being able to hear that “tiny whispering sound” through which God reaches out to us so he can be a part of our lives. We have to make a conscious decision to let him into our lives. 

In his autobiography, Seven Story Mountain, Thomas Merton tells how he was able to find true freedom not in the world but rather within the confines of the four walls of a monastic cell. It was there in the silence of the Trappist Monastery that he experienced the “tiny whispering sound” that enabled him to find himself and to find God. 

Now we all aren’t as fortunate as Thomas Merton to be able to head off to the solitude of a Cistercian Monastery. But, as fate would have it, Covid-19 has caused us to break out of our daily routine and subject ourselves to a self-imposed isolation to various degrees. This is our chance to imitate Merton in finding that quiet place and setting aside some of that freed up time to hear the “tiny whispering sound” of God piercing through the din of the world to make his presence known to us. For it is only in this silence, this strange language of God, that we are able to hear his voice. 

God bless and keep you always!

Deacon Tom 

Please Visit www.deaconspod.com and listen in as the three deacs engage in a contemporary conversation exploring the treasures our Catholic faith has to offer to those thinking of coming into or leaving it.

 

OTHER RESOURCE

 

Recommended Reading: American Catholics: A History of the Roman Catholic Community in the United States by James Hennesey, S.J. Written by one of the foremost historians of American Catholicism, this book presents a comprehensive history of the Roman Catholic Church in America from colonial times to the present. Hennesey examines, in particular, minority Catholics and developments in the western part of the United States, a region often overlooked in religious histories.

 

 

Recommended YouTube Video: Catholics in America by Ryan Reeves Ph.D. is Assistant Professor of Historical Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Here he gives a brief summary of the Catholic experience in the early days of America.