BE STILL
Psalm 46:11 “Be still and know that I am GOD…”
This is easily my favorite Bible verse. It took me awhile to fully understand the significance of this verse. Not only is God telling us that we need to “be still”, but that we cannot know God until we are still. In the society we live in today, this is a difficult to comprehend. It is hard to “be still.” We are always busy, whether it is school, work, sports, friends, even volunteering at church. We have very little time to spare, and to just “be still” can be scary.
We all pray, or at least we all should pray. Prayer is to be in constant communication with God, but communication works two ways. It is easy to talk to Him, ask of Him, and especially complain to Him. But in prayer, we also need to let him talk. “Being still” gives God that opportunity.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to go to a weeklong Lifeteen retreat in northern Arizona. Now, at this point in my life I was going through a process of discernment. I suppose every Catholic male at some point thinks about the priesthood. I have always felt a strong call to married life, but I also feel called to a life of service. While there, I decided to spend as much time as possible in discernment. The camp offered adoration whenever the students were on break. I had about 45 minutes to spare, so I decided to spend some time in discernment in front of Jesus. I start to focus on Psalm 46:11, trying to calm my mind and be still. I am really not sure how long I was there, but after a time, I was still. My eyes were closed, and I see a small white circle. The circle got bigger, until I could finally see a clear picture. I could see two pairs of hands, one were my own, and another right next to mine. And I could see that I was holding up a cup, and the hands next to mine where holding the Body of Christ.
For those who don’t know, in Mass just after the bread and wine have been consecrated, the priest holds up the Body of Christ, and the deacon holds the Blood of Christ. I could see God’s plan for me in the most beautiful way possible, seeing myself worshipping Him.
I allowed myself to be still, I allowed God to speak, and He did.
We live in a very selfish society. This society is very focused on “me” when our focus should be focused on God and “us”. We are all one body. At mass during the Creed we say “we believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.” So, imagine a football team, and the offensive line decides not to show up. The game would turn out so well. That is what happens when we, as Catholics act selfish. Not only do we hurt our relationship with God, but we harm our fellow Catholic’s relationships with God as well.
Last week happened to be both the week of vocations and sanctity of life. I see many people acting selfish in both of these respects. This is very clear with abortion. I do not know of a single, willing abortion performed when the mother was not acting selfish. And I unfortunately have known a woman who had an abortion performed. Her reasoning: she might want to go into the Sherriff’s Academy and she can’t do that pregnant.
Many people are afraid of being still, not because they fear they won’t hear God, but because they will. When we let go of self, give up our selfishness and give ourselves to God, the reward is greater than imaginable and will give you more joy than selfishness ever could.
So, I invite all of you to give up yourself to God, and you can start by just “being still.”
Psalm 46:11 “Be still and know that I am GOD…”
This is easily my favorite Bible verse. It took me awhile to fully understand the significance of this verse. Not only is God telling us that we need to “be still”, but that we cannot know God until we are still. In the society we live in today, this is a difficult to comprehend. It is hard to “be still.” We are always busy, whether it is school, work, sports, friends, even volunteering at church. We have very little time to spare, and to just “be still” can be scary.
We all pray, or at least we all should pray. Prayer is to be in constant communication with God, but communication works two ways. It is easy to talk to Him, ask of Him, and especially complain to Him. But in prayer, we also need to let him talk. “Being still” gives God that opportunity.
A few years ago, I had the opportunity to go to a weeklong Lifeteen retreat in northern Arizona. Now, at this point in my life I was going through a process of discernment. I suppose every Catholic male at some point thinks about the priesthood. I have always felt a strong call to married life, but I also feel called to a life of service. While there, I decided to spend as much time as possible in discernment. The camp offered adoration whenever the students were on break. I had about 45 minutes to spare, so I decided to spend some time in discernment in front of Jesus. I start to focus on Psalm 46:11, trying to calm my mind and be still. I am really not sure how long I was there, but after a time, I was still. My eyes were closed, and I see a small white circle. The circle got bigger, until I could finally see a clear picture. I could see two pairs of hands, one were my own, and another right next to mine. And I could see that I was holding up a cup, and the hands next to mine where holding the Body of Christ.
For those who don’t know, in Mass just after the bread and wine have been consecrated, the priest holds up the Body of Christ, and the deacon holds the Blood of Christ. I could see God’s plan for me in the most beautiful way possible, seeing myself worshipping Him.
I allowed myself to be still, I allowed God to speak, and He did.
We live in a very selfish society. This society is very focused on “me” when our focus should be focused on God and “us”. We are all one body. At mass during the Creed we say “we believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.” So, imagine a football team, and the offensive line decides not to show up. The game would turn out so well. That is what happens when we, as Catholics act selfish. Not only do we hurt our relationship with God, but we harm our fellow Catholic’s relationships with God as well.
Last week happened to be both the week of vocations and sanctity of life. I see many people acting selfish in both of these respects. This is very clear with abortion. I do not know of a single, willing abortion performed when the mother was not acting selfish. And I unfortunately have known a woman who had an abortion performed. Her reasoning: she might want to go into the Sherriff’s Academy and she can’t do that pregnant.
Many people are afraid of being still, not because they fear they won’t hear God, but because they will. When we let go of self, give up our selfishness and give ourselves to God, the reward is greater than imaginable and will give you more joy than selfishness ever could.
So, I invite all of you to give up yourself to God, and you can start by just “being still.”