DAILY HOMILIES #silence

Let us learn to be silent, even if it is just for a few minutes every day. And as we celebrate Christmas, it would help to play Zechariah by taking time for quiet reflection.

Andrew was the first person to be called by Jesus to be His disciple. In John’s Gospel, Andrew was one of the two disciples of John the Baptist who left him to follow Jesus. This was after John the Baptist announced: “Behold, the Lamb of God!” Lesson One: Andrew did not doubt John the Baptist; he had not seen Jesus before or witnessed any miracle but believed. Andrew is a Man of Faith

As we reflect on Mary’s Immaculate Heart, let us look at our hearts. Is my heart like that of Mary? What efforts am I making to guard my heart against all defilements of evil? Is my heart clean enough to accommodate God? Am I willing to listen to the truth and change my ways?

Finally, let us join our psalmist today to pray: “O God be gracious and bless us.” It is good to receive powerful prophetic utterances on this first day of the New Year but today should not be your last day of stepping your feet into the church this year. The blessings you receive today are not different from the blessings of every other day. Jesus taught us to pray for our daily bread – not our yearly bread. That is to say, Jesus wants us to pray every day. Continue to pray, don’t stop.

Silence helps to refine our hearts. For instance, we tend to listen more when we are silent, we tend to hear more and understand life better, we get to see the bigger picture and we get to look beyond our immediate problems. If God forced Zachariah to be silent, how much more would we profit if we decide to embark on silence voluntarily.