Reflections from the Heart – November 24, 2024

The Solemnity of Christ the King
by Fr. Ivan Olmo

“Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” Listening is such a great challenge for us, yet it is the very thing, the source of our being, what we are most inclined to do. We, all of humanity and all of creation, have been created and instructed to listen attentively to the voice of our Creator, to hear and listen carefully to the visible Word he has sent to us, to listen to with the greatest attention and affection and to the Holy Spirit, the means and grace by how we listen, pray and respond. Responding graciously and respectfully to God and to one another is what we are created and called to do. Perhaps, the very thing our heavenly Father only really asks of us. To love him with all our heart, mind, strength, soul and being by believing and listening to his Only-begotten Son, Jesus, the Good Shepherd who was sent to become a sacrificial peace offering on our behalf in order to raise us in integrity and to newness of life. The challenge is that there is so much to listen to, people, vehicles, nature, enemies, hurts, wounds, pains but the reality is that we should only be listening to one person, God our heavenly Father. His voice is not distracting or a distraction but rather a sweet and soothing sound that remedies noise, is a joyous sound and a melody our heart, mind, body and soul wishes to hear and hopes to listen to, for the voice of the Lord is the sweetest sound to saints and sinners alike. Noise is a distraction, which uses noise as a distraction to distract us. The enemy likes to raise his ugly voice to curse and blaspheme the Holy Name of the Lord. He is that noise, that distraction, always making inappropriate sounds and gestures to distract us for listening to the creative sound and healing voice of the Lord who draws us through beauty, goodness and truth. Whom do you listen to, would rather listen to? Whom do you sound like when you speak? Are your words and the utterances of your heart life giving, lifesaving, life changing, encouraging and inspiring or are your words and the reactions of your thoughts foul, hateful, depleting, hateful? Who sounds like that! Listening to God, the source and nature of all truth sets us free. Listening to lies imprisons us. Speaking untruths is the dark prison of death we need to avoid. We belong to God. The truth we listen to who set us free.