These days more than ever we are bombarded with distractions, floods of information and news that pull our attention this way and that. Have you seen the latest show? Do you support my cause or his cause? Why or why not? Eat this, don't eat this, avoid that, embrace that, it's a bewildering blur of noise, a cacophony of mayhem that ends up meaning little.
Through our phones, our televisions, our computers, our radios, even in our schools and universities there blares an endless bedlam of messages trying to tell us what to do, what to say, and even what to think, demanding and coercing.
As if there weren't enough real problems to worry about! Keeping a roof over our heads, fuel in the car and food on the table is becoming more and more difficult, and raising a family only multiplies these challenges, turning what should be a joy into a burden. Our country feels less friendly with each passing month. It's a headache that seems without end or improvement.
In today's world we neccessarily need to pick and choose where we spend our time and effort, what to think about and what to forget, not just to keep going but to maintain our mental and physical health. So if you feel you don't really have time to think about spirituality or faith, you have better things to do than pause for a moment and consider the bigger picture, you are not alone - there are many others in the same situation.
However we owe it to ourselves and to the people around us, especially those who depend on us, to take a moment each day to ourselves and reflect not just on where we are and where we are going, but on who we are and who we want to be.
Saying a little prayer and thinking about the decisions we make in the light of the faith is not only wholesome, it offers many tangible and practical benefits too. You will find yourself better able to focus and deal with the challenges the world throws in your path.
We are all busy and we all have a lot going on, but our activity will benefit us little if we don't take a minute to listen for the still small voice which whispered to Elijah as he sat on the edge of his own physical and spiritual precipice in the mountains.
11 And he said, “Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; 12 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
1 Kings 19:11-13
The voice was not in the noise, the whirling emotional highs, thousand voices and bewildering spectacle of the mighty wind, and it wasn't in the drum-beat thunderous power of the earthquake trying to uproot the mountain, nor could it be found in the flickering, narcotic, smoky secrets of the flames.
It could only be heard when these things went away.
If you would like to learn about practical everyday ways you can grow in the Faith, you can find some thoughts and suggestions in the fundamentals section. If you have questions or reservations about Catholic teachings, take a look at the section on understanding.
“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.
It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.”
― G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness.
God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence;
see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...
We need silence to be able to touch souls.
- Mother Teresa
