Divine Appeal Reflection - 4
Today, consider in Divine Appeal 4: "I want My Voice full of affliction to fly to the very ends of the earth saying over and over again: 'Be attentive... the time to settle accounts has arrived! Blessed are those who listen to My Voice.' "
The greatness of man is not that he dominates creation, but that he can hear and respond to the Creator. To be human is to be addressed. From the beginning, the human story began not with man’s speech but with God’s Voice: “Let us make man” (cf. Gen 1:26). To listen is to recognize that existence itself is gift, not possession. The Catechism teaches that man is created for communion with God, and without this dialogue, he cannot live in truth (cf. CCC 27). Silence before His Word is not weakness but the foundation of authentic strength. When listening is lost, communion collapses, and identity fragments. Our age holds originality, productivity, and assertiveness in utmost respect, but if these are not directed toward God, our pursuits become exhausted idols of the heart. A society that forgets how to listen—to God, to conscience, to each other—is really moving back rather than being moved forward. The constant demand to “express oneself” blinds us to the deeper vocation of receptivity. Prophets did not invent; they transmitted what they heard. To listen is the supreme human act of humility, the foundation of wisdom. This means that in every vocation—parent, worker, artist, teacher—the first duty is not to produce or persuade, but to hear. In silence, we become capable of eternity. In listening, our scattered selves cohere. When man listens to God, he becomes most fully human; when he refuses, he becomes a stranger to himself.
The most destructive wound in human history is the refusal to listen. Cain was warned that sin lurked at his door, yet he silenced God’s counsel and killed his brother (cf. Gen 4:7–8). Pharaoh hardened his heart again and again, until his kingdom collapsed (cf. Ex 7–12). Even disciples fell asleep in Gethsemane, failing to hear Christ’s sorrowful plea (cf. Mt 26:40). Sin is not merely breaking laws but closing ears to love’s appeal. The Catechism explains that mortal sin is a rupture of communion, a willful deafness to God’s call (cf. CCC 1855). Today, deafness takes subtler forms. It hides beneath relativism that denies any voice can claim truth. It cloaks itself in noise—constant entertainment, social media, endless debates—that fills the mind but starves the soul. Deafness corrodes marriages when partners stop listening to one another, paralyzes societies when truth is suppressed, and isolates youth who seek meaning but are drowned in distractions. Christ’s Voice is afflicted because humanity’s refusal intensifies suffering—not only His but ours. To listen is not merely obedience; it is the healing of alienation. Deafness leaves us restless and fractured. Listening restores relationship, identity, and peace.
True listening is never passive; it is a battlefield where destinies are shaped. Eve listened to the serpent, and trust unraveled (cf. Gen 3:1–6). Samuel listened in the night, and a prophet was born (cf. 1 Sam 3:10). Abraham listened when God’s command seemed unbearable, and his faith became a blessing for generations (cf. Gen 22:18). Mary listened to the angel, and salvation entered the world (cf. Lk 1:38). Scripture reveals that the ear of the heart directs the whole course of life: “Faith comes from hearing” (cf. Rom 10:17). The Catechism insists that conscience must be formed and safeguarded against deception, lest freedom collapse under error (cf. CCC 1783). In today’s world, vigilance is urgent. Competing voices bombard us: consumerism insists identity lies in possessions, politics in power, culture in pleasure, technology in endless distraction. These voices are not neutral—they demand allegiance. The practice of vigilance is not abstract; rather, it is rooted in the everyday challenges of existence.By fostering behaviours that keep us near God's voice, it sharpens the soul: Scripture should be opened so that His word can cut through confusion (cf. Heb 4:12), silence ought to prevail to allow truth to grow in the heart (cf. Ps 46:10), confession ought to be made so that lies are broken and the conscience is purified (cf. CCC 1455), and Eucharistic adoration should be kneeled in so that Christ Himself becomes the measure of everything (cf. Jn 6-68).
But vigilance also has a face of courage. It means refusing the easy money of bribery, even when family needs press hard. It means resisting propaganda, though it isolates us from the crowd. It means standing against injustice, even when it costs reputation. It is the parent shielding their child from ideologies that deform innocence, the believer who switches off the screen when entertainment begins to numb discernment, the worker who refuses the cynicism that whispers, “Nothing will ever change.” Vigilance is costly, but it guards the soul from corruption. It is the art of keeping hope alive when voices of despair grow loud, and the discipline of keeping one’s ear tuned to God. To listen authentically is to fight for clarity. God’s Word is life (cf. Phil 2:16), but rival voices seek to steal it (cf. Jn 10:10). Vigilance means protecting the ear of the soul, so that nothing corrupts its capacity to hear the One Voice that saves.
Those who truly listen already begin to live eternity. Christ said that the one who hears His Word and acts on it builds unshakable foundations (cf. Mt 7:24). Listening now is rehearsal for heaven, where every soul will live in perfect receptivity to the Word that was in the beginning (cf. Jn 1:1). The Catechism affirms that the Beatitudes are promises of blessedness and foretaste of the Kingdom (cf. CCC 1717). To listen is to participate in this blessedness even now. The Church's activity targets how everyday life is lived: Clarity is given to the adolescent who renounces counterfeit freedoms for actual fidelity ; the parent who forgives instead of harboring resentment is granted patience, and the worker gains courage in confronting corruption with truthfulness. The world is shown that God is not silent when the attentive soul becomes radiant. Listening also bestows endurance, for even in trials, the soul anchored in God’s Voice discovers a joy the world cannot erase. This destiny is not only future—it breaks in now, wherever hearts incline to God. Blessedness is already present in those who listen, for their lives carry the resonance of eternity, awaiting the final Word: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom” (cf. Mt 25:34).
Prayer
Adorable Jesus, train our hearts to be vigilant listeners. Rescue us from the deafness of pride, noise, and indifference. Let Your Voice define our identity, heal our wounds, and direct our choices. May our listening bear fruit now in fidelity, and prepare us for the eternal blessedness of communion with You. Amen
Sr. Anna Ali of the Most Holy Eucharist, intercede for us.
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