Paul and Timothy were traveling from town to town in the first reading for mass today. They were sharing the news about the recent decisions the Apostles and elders in Jerusalem had made about the Gentiles. During their journey, they also spoke to the people along the away about Jesus Christ. However when they reached Asia, the Holy Spirit stopped them from speaking about Jesus there. Then they wanted to go to Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit prevented them from speaking about Jesus there too.
Why did the Holy Spirit stop Paul and Timothy from going to Asia and Bithynia? Was it because they would have been severely persecuted or even put to death if they had spoken about Jesus there? The Holy Spirit seems to have been protecting Paul and Timothy on their journey, and He alone guided them on where to go. Isn’t it awesome the say that Paul listened to the Holy Spirit and completed trusted in His guidance?
Paul was also guided by God in his sleep. The first reading said that, “During the night Paul had a vision. A Macedonian stood before him and implored him with these words, Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After this vision during the night, they left at once for Macedonia.
How many of us actually know how to recognize the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and or pay any serious attention to our dreams? Many people in modern times think it is foolish to pay attention to “dreams” and “intuition”, so we may have learned to stifle our openness to the Holy Spirit’s guidance. Paul not only knew how to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and recognize God speaking to him through his dreams, but he acted on it as well.
Yes, it is true that Saint Paul was a saint and we aren’t. Saint Paul was the greatest evangelist the Catholic church has ever known and was hand picked by Jesus Christ himself for this mission. That doesn’t mean we do not have a mission or a purpose that is set aside by God too though. It doesn’t matter who we are, ordained clergy or other religious brothers and sisters, a lay man or woman, we all have been called by Jesus Christ for a specific purpose, no matter how big or small that may be.
The problem for many of us, is how to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, trust His guidance, and actually do what He asks us to do. We are distracted by so many things in our lives that we need to get done each day, we scarcely have a moment of quiet to listen to God’s voice in our hearts. The noise in our lives also drowns out our ability to listen to the Holy Spirit, and so can stress at work, home or school.
Through the graces we receive in prayer, it’s possible to hear the Holy Spirit above the noise of our world, but that’s rare. By the way, the Holy Spirit never audibly “speaks”, but communicates to us in an unspoken way in our hearts.Most of the time the Holy Spirit speaks to us when we are alone, in silence and when we are the most relaxed. Silence, solitude and periods of prayer can open us up to God’s grace, but the Holy Spirit doesn’t usually come at our own bidding. He can turn up unexpectedly while doing yard work, gardening, chores at home, or during other routine tasks when we are relaxed enough to hear his voice speak to us in our hearts.
At the end of the first reading today, the Holy Spirit quit warning Paul where they shouldn’t go to speak to the people about Jesus, but guided him to go to Macedonia where the people would be more open to hearing about the Lord. Maybe that was because it wasn’t safe to go to Asia, because the people would be hostile to the Good News of Jesus Christ, but it was safe to go to Macedonia.
Jesus also warned his disciples in advance, that many people would not be open to hearing about him, in today’s gospel. “If the world hates you, realize that it hated me first … if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”
The readings for mass today indicate the need for prudence, when speaking to other people about Jesus Christ. There’s no point in trying to force the issue with worldly people who have already made their mind up that there is no God, like atheists. They’ve already made their mind up. We should pray for their conversion and hope that at some point in the future they will be open to hearing about Jesus Christ.
There are some people though, that we encounter in our daily lives that are open to listening to us, about our beliefs in Jesus Christ and our Catholic faith though. These are the ones who are being called by the Holy Spirit even if they do not completely realize it yet. An open heart, that is willing to listen, is a clear indication that we are also being called by the Holy Spirit to help them on their journey to Christ. The Holy Spirit will be our guide on when we shouldn’t speak to a particular person(s) about Jesus, and when we should, if we learn to trust His guidance and act on it.
Daily Mass Readings:
Acts 16: 1-10 / Psalm 100: 1b-3, 5 / John 15: 12-17
