After last night’s Mass, I sat down to read the readings for today. In the first reading, from Deuteronomy, there was a particular line that caught my attention. Moses had summoned all of Israel, every single person, and had been talking to them about what it means to be in a relationship with God. After this teaching moment, Moses says, “I set before you life and prosperity, death and doom.”
Then he says, “Choose life […] by Loving the Lord, your God, heeding his voice and holding fast to him.” That sums up Lent in a nutshell. If anything stands between us and loving God, we need to remove it from our lives and the Church teaches us that we do that through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
These aren’t magical formulas. They don’t accumulate points or force God’s hand. Instead, they are the key to understand how God designed us. I want to talk today about prayer. Prayer is communication. All healthy relationships must include this connection, this dialogue. Our goal should be to increase how much we speak to God, and maybe even more importantly, how much we listen.
Moses tells us that “heeding his voice” is part of the key to choosing life. How can we heed his voice if we don’t listen for it? That’s why Sacred Silence is so important. Saint John Paul the Second said, “Only in silence does man succeed in hearing [..] the voice of God, which really makes him free.” That’s why we try to be reverent in front of the Tabernacle, avoiding casual conversation when possible, and paying attention to Jesus in the Eucharist instead of each other.
Right here in this space, we find Jesus in the consecrated host. Body and blood, soul and divinity. Have you ever sat listening? Straining to hear the heart of God that beats for you? That’s the kind of silence we should be seeking.
In closing, I want to read an excerpt from First Fridays with the sacred heart: The heart of Jesus is indeed the treasury God has opened to humanity. The eternal Father has placed in the Heart of Jesus all His infinite love, power, wisdom, and goodness […] He did not seal or barricade it, but rather permitted His Heart to be opened with a lance. In every Catholic Church in the world, He offers its treasures to all who need comfort and salvation.”
I want to encourage you this Lent to spend time in silence before the Blessed Sacrament. We should prepare for Mass by coming a little bit earlier than we usually do, even if it’s just a few minutes. Then sitting in silence before Jesus in the tabernacle, and listening for Him to speak to us. He is always here, waiting for us.
Thursday After Ash Wednesday: February 18th, 2021