WEDNESDAY, SIXTH WEEK OF EASTERTIDE
Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima
Acts 17:15, 22–18:1 Ps 148: 1-2, 11-14 Jn 16: 12-15
FINDING GOD IN THE SILENCE
Paul stood in the busy marketplace of Athens and noticed an altar “to the unknown God.” The people were searching, even if they did not know for whom. That small detail feels close to home. Many of us move through crowded days with a quiet altar inside our hearts. We sense that someone is there, but we are not sure how to name Him. Paul began with a positive longing. “In Him we live and move and have our being!” He was not pessimistic or argumentative. God is not far away, hidden in stone temples. He is nearer than our very own breathing. This is where the Carmelite way gently leads us: not outward first, but inward. Like Elijah hearing the tiny whisper on the mountain, we learn that God often speaks softly. We must grow quiet to notice.
Think of Elijah on the mountain, waiting for God. The wind roared, the earth shook, the fire blazed — but the Lord came in the gentle whisper. Our lives are full of noise and shaking. Yet beneath it all, there is a quiet place where the Spirit of truth speaks. Jesus tells us that the Spirit will guide us into all truth, slowly, patiently, as we are able to bear it. The spiritual life is neither rushed, nor forced. It unfolds like dawn, in its own time. “Mental prayer is nothing else than an intimate sharing between friends; it means taking time frequently to be alone with Him who we know loves us.” says Teresa of Ávila Some in Athens mocked Paul when he spoke of resurrection. Others leaned closer and believed. Every day we also choose. Will we dismiss the quiet stirring within, or will we pause and listen?
Seeking Jesus in everyday life is simple, though not always easy. Try and make small spaces of silence. Turn your heart toward Him in the middle of ordinary tasks. Trust that the Spirit is already at work. The unknown God is not unknown anymore. He is near, speaking gently, waiting to be welcomed. In the words of John of the Cross, “Silence is God’s first language.”
Response: Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
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