Divine Appeal Reflection - 251
Today, consider in Divine Appeal 251: " ... be patient and listen to Me."
In an age saturated with noise, speed, and instant gratification, the soul’s capacity for silence and receptivity has withered. Sacred Scripture reveals the inner dissonance that often clouds our service.At Bethany, when Jesus entered the home of Martha and Mary, Martha was absorbed in the duties of hospitality, while Mary remained at His feet, absorbed in His presence. It was not Martha’s labor that drew gentle correction, but the unrest within her—a divided heart troubled by many things, lacking the interior stillness to truly receive Him (cf. Lk 10:38–42). This tension persists across vocations. The priest, immersed in pastoral obligations, may find his soul fragmented if he no longer drinks from the wellspring of contemplative prayer. The consecrated religious, devoted outwardly to God, can inwardly drift if patient fidelity to the cloistered silence weakens. The layperson, submerged in the demands of work, parenting, and society, is especially vulnerable to a spirituality that lacks roots—reactive, hurried, and spiritually thin.
Patience is not mere endurance—it is the soul’s alignment with divine time. The Woman with the Hemorrhage exemplifies this with extraordinary grace. Twelve years of suffering did not crush her faith. She waited, listened, and recognized the sacred moment when she might touch the hem of Christ’s garment without fanfare, yet with unwavering trust (cf. Mk 5:25–34). Her healing was not a reward for dramatic pleading but for quiet, persevering faith. Similarly, Simeon and Anna offer us luminous portraits of souls immersed in patient expectation. They lived attuned to God, not measuring days but trusting in the certainty of His promise. Their joy in recognizing the Infant Christ was not spontaneous—it was the fruit of listening hearts shaped by decades of hopeful waiting (cf. Lk 2:25–38).
Impatience reflects a refusal to live in the sacred rhythm of divine providence. It is the soul’s rebellion against mystery, desiring outcomes without surrender. The Catechism teaches that patience is part of fortitude—enabling one to resist sadness, sustain hope, and endure suffering without resentment (cf. CCC 1808). It is also a sign of spiritual maturity, showing that the soul has relinquished control to divine wisdom. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, patience serves as the guardian of charity, for without the strength to endure trials with peace, love cannot be sustained; it withers under the weight of suffering when not anchored in long-suffering perseverance. Philosophically, impatience emerges from an existential discomfort with time—we crave resolution, clarity, sensation. But the God of Abraham is not found in haste. As with Elijah, He is encountered not in earthquake or fire, but in the still small voice (cf. 1 Kgs 19:12). To listen to Jesus requires not only silence, but a silence that is inhabited by humble expectation.
Across all states of life, this is a call to interior conversion. The priest is summoned to prioritize adoration over activity—to offer not only the Sacrifice but also the silence of his heart. The consecrated soul must rekindle love for the cloistered or hidden hours, trusting that God’s most transformative work occurs in what the world deems insignificant. The layperson is invited to consecrate the ordinary: to find God in traffic jams, sleepless nights, and daily repetition—where the whisper of Christ can be discerned by the soul that listens. Married couples are called to embrace moments of shared silence, praying together even when words fail, listening for God in one another. In a restless culture that prizes output over presence, such listening becomes a prophetic witness. It says to the world: grace has its time, and God never delays.
Prayer
O our Adorable Jesus, we have grown deaf in haste and weak in waiting. Form in us patient hearts like Mary’s, trusting hearts like Simeon’s, and persevering hearts like the woman who reached for You. May we listen with love across all vocations, and remain still before the mystery of Your will. Amen.
Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.
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