John, the precursor

Yesterday's Gospel presents the figure of John the Baptist. He is an important and revered figure in Christianity, after all, he is the precursor of the Messiah.
Then I let my imagination run. If John the Baptist were born today, to what figure could I associate him? The Gospel of Matthew describes him, thus:
    he lived in the wilderness
    he had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins
    his meat was locusts and wild honey.
not so much the type whom we would see seated in the great halls or interviewed all over the place.
Instead, he would be much like a tramp, a rebel, or one of those who spend their days in protest rallies.
So how do I react to these people? Do I listen to them, or don't I, like the majority, think of them as weird?
If John the Baptist were born in this age, I might not even take a second look at him.

May God open my eyes to see Him  and to listen to Him because He speaks and He manifests Himself as He pleases, even through the most unusual instruments.

Listen

To listen is the first step to wisdom. In listening, we engage our whole being: our senses, our memory, our mind. Without the discipline of listening, life passes by without us realizing it. We go from one experience to another in a very superficial way. We commit the same mistakes, not because of human weakness but because we haven't identified the lessons our experiences teach us. We become like ship tossed to and fro by the wind because we don't have something solid that holds us.
Lord, give me the gift of listening in openness, humility and truth.

God in the most unexpected places

I woke up early, as I usually do, despite the fact that our community wakes up half an hour later during the Christmas holidays. I am already so used to my morning ritual of walking a little and breathing some fresh air before going to the chapel to pray the Office of the Readings.
Well, today something happened. One Sister had to go out early so she asked me right then and there to bring to the kitchen the bread delivered by the baker. That meant a deviation in my schedule, but I agreed to her request, without giving it a second thought. So instead of praying all three Psalms of the Office I just prayed two; yet  there was no feeling of guilt that my prayer was incomplete. I just felt in my heart that God wants me to meet Him in the need of that Sister.
That was a good occasion for me to pray, after all, prayer is to "listen and obey".