Just Listen

Last Wednesday I went to mass at a nearby parish for Thanksgiving.  I arrived a little more than ten minutes before mass started.  I was glad to arrive a bit early, so I could spend the time before mass, praying, reflecting, and enjoying the quiet, especially after a long day of work before the long weekend that was ahead.  But instead of a time of peace and quiet, the church was filled with noise and non-stop conversations.  It’s no surprise that the world around us doesn’t stop talking.  But our churches should be the one place where we can find silence and stillness easily, without having to put in effort to find it.  If we aren’t listening, how do we expect to hear God?

When I say that the church was filled with noise before mass, I am not talking about babies or little kids.  (It is good to hear these sounds!)  There were conversations going on throughout the church between adults sitting in the pews.  Some were in loud whispers and others were at normal volume, almost as if those in conversation had no idea where they were sitting and Who they were sitting before.  There is nothing wrong with offering a greeting to someone as you arrive or saying a few words to others around you.  But to sit there having full out conversations for more than a few minutes just doesn’t seem appropriate.  

The time before mass is not a social event or time to catch up with the people next to you.  It’s a time to quiet our hearts and minds, be still, and listen.  It’s time to pray and to prepare to encounter the God of the universe who makes Himself present on the altar during each and every single mass. 

The time before every mass we go to should be spent in prayer and reflection.  However, now that we are in the season of Advent, this is especially important.  The world around us is anything but quiet right now.  It is busy, loud, and hurried.  But we are called to slow down and be quiet, to wait and prepare, to stop and to listen.  And we must carve out time to listen.  We must be intentional about seeking out silence.  If we cannot even find this in church, why would we find it anywhere else?
​
God wants to speak to each one of us individually.  And He will.  But we must listen.  And we can only listen when we are quiet.  My prayer for each of us is that we would seek out silence and find time to be quiet not only before mass, but in our homes, and throughout random moments of our days.  Let Jesus speak to you and spend these four weeks of Advent preparing room for Him in your heart!