Glory be to Jesus Christ!
Did you ever have to train your ear to learn singing or play a musical instrument? It is amazing what more you can hear in a piece of music when you are actually listening for it. Little nuances between artist’s interpretations of the same piece, the different musical quality of the various instruments all stand out to you when you may have completely missed them before.
Today we celebrate the feast of the Encounter of Our Lord in the Temple, and we meet two people, Symeon and Anna, who have been waiting and listening to the Holy Spirit in anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah. They have been trained through their continued spiritual struggles and humility to hear the breath of the Holy Spirit acting in the world. They have been trained enough to recognize this little Baby to be the King of Kings that He is.
The Lord is still working in the world, and specifically in your life. Do you have ears to hear? Our world has become a much busier and louder place, and sometimes we are tempted to “tune out” his voice or we are too distracted to listen. Today, take the five minute challenge. Sit in silence and stillness for five minutes, without checking your cellphone, facebook, twitter, instagram…and just sit with the Lord. Everything in you will scream out to “be productive” (as if you were getting that much done surfing that newsfeed anyway!), but resist that. Cultivate a spirit of stillness and the ears of your soul will develop. Lord, allow us to witness your saving grace in our lives!
Glory be to Jesus Christ! Happy feast!
