It is extremely important for us to hear God. The Lord has promised: "Had they stood in My council, and did they but proclaim to My people My words, they would have brought them back from evil ways and from their wicked deeds" (Jer 23:22). By hearing God, we can change the world, for His words are living and effective (Heb 4:12).

However, it is extremely difficult for us to hear God because:

• of our fallen nature,
• many of us are "not familiar with the Lord" (1 Sm 3:7),
• "a revelation of the Lord" is "uncommon and vision infrequent" in our culture of death (1 Sm 3:1), and
• even leaders of the Church are susceptible to being spiritually asleep and blind so that they don't help us (see 1 Sm 3:2).

Nevertheless, the Lord got through to Samuel and thereby converted "the whole Israelite population" (1 Sm 7:2). Although we may be as confused as the child Samuel, the Lord in His mercy continues to open the ears of the spiritually deaf. There is hope not only because God speaks, but also because He removes the many, formidable obstacles to hearing Him.

Therefore, if you don't hear God, admit it. Repent of your part in this. Get as much help from the Church as you can. Ask God to speak to you. Read the teachings of the Church, especially the Scriptures. Be quiet. Simplify your life. Try to hear God. God will communicate with you.

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Robert L. Hagedorn, May 30, 2001

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, June 4, 2001