Holy Ground

"Yahweh said to him, 'Do not come near; take off your sandals because the place where you are standing is holy ground.' And God continued, 'I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.' Moses hid his face lest his eyes look on God." - Exodus 3:5-6

Respect is something we all want people to have for us. It is said that we have to give it in order to earn it. Unfortunately, we don't see much of it anymore. People cross so many lines and hardly anything is sacred nowadays. Imagine a neighbor you hardly know just barges into your house one day. They demand to be invited for dinner but give you very little courtesy while in your presence. After dinner, they leave and show no gratitude for your attention with them. This is how many of us are with the Lord and how we act when we enter His house, the church.

Some people walk in late. They talk to the people next to them during the homily, or gaze off at something, not paying attention. Many come in chewing gum or not properly dressed. Many of these are also the first to leave before the blessing is even given. Do you not know that the house of the Lord is a sacred place? A holy place? We have lost the meaning of what is sacred and holy. Before the presence of God, the Creator of the Universe, Moses had to take off his shoes because he was in the presence of the Most High! Open your eyes and see how what we experience during the Mass is the mystery of God the Almighty! What you see going on before you is what Jesus Christ Himself taught the apostles to do before the faithful. The priest who gives the Mass has taken the place of Peter, John, James, Andrew and the rest, and is breaking bread with you, just as Jesus did! And God has invited you to the feast! Pay attention! Involve yourself in the works of God!

And besides having respect for holy and sacred ground, have you fully removed your shoes? Moses was a shepherd, his shoes must have been so dirty. There's no way he could have entered holy ground with them on. Are you bringing filth into God's presence? Are you approaching Him with things you know are separating you from Him? He is holy and pure and deserves at least our respect before Him. When God identified Himself to Moses and Moses recognized he was before God, he hid his face from the Lord because immediately Moses knew how small he was and how infinite and holy God is. In the same way, all of us, since we are all sinners, should bow down before the presence of God out of respect for His Name with the reverence He deserves, especially when we enter His sacred house.

Today's Prayer:
My God, in my ignorance I follow my own will and neglect the fact that You are God, my Creator and rob You of the reverence and respect You deserve. Please give me the humility You gave to Moses before You so that I can honor Your Name. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.

Speak, Lord, Your Servant Listens

"The boy Samuel ministered to Yahweh under Eli's care in a time in which the word of Yahweh was rarely heard; visions were not seen. Samuel did not yet know Yahweh and the word of Yahweh had not yet been revealed to him. But Yahweh called Samuel and, as he went again to Eli saying, 'I am here for you have called me,' Eli realized that it was Yahweh calling the boy. So he said to Samuel, 'Go, lie down, and if he calls you again, answer: Speak, Yahweh, your servant listens.'" - 1st Samuel 3:1,7-9

A young boy hears the call of God at a time when God's word was hardly heard and visions were not seen. Sounds a lot like today, right? Regardless of the fact that we might not have angels appearing to us, telling us the will of God for our lives, we do have a small, inner voice that tells us what we should do and what we shouldn't do. Or sometimes we get instincts about things, places, people. A lot of times these feelings are cloudy and we're not too sure about what to do. Probably like Samuel, we confused the message and go to others thinking the answer is somewhere else. Samuel knew he heard a voice calling him, but didn't know it was God. How do you know it's God if you've never heard Him speak before? Thankfully, Samuel had Eli who told him to try to listen to the voice of God, as I'm sure you have those who tell you the same. Upon his moment of confusion in regards to the call, Eli told Samuel to lie down still and just say, "Speak, God, your servant listens." And this is exactly what we should do. God puts a message in our hearts that we might not be too sure of, but if we just stay at peace and ask Him to speak, He will clarify everything for us. It might not be trumpets blasting but He will talk to you and tell you what He needs to say.

Today's Prayer:
Lord God, after this busy day, help me to find Your peace. There is so much I need to hear from You and now, I want to find the time to listen. I'm not sure what my path is, but I know You guide me. See me here resting with You…speak Lord, your servant listens.