There are two forms of deafness: spiritual deafness and physical deafness. Without a doubt, physical deafness or being hard of hearing can cause enormous suffering for the person affected, as well as for those who live with them.
Not understanding what is said and repeatedly asking for it to be repeated causes great frustration and perhaps even depression in the affected person. Those who live with the deaf or partially deaf person also suffer from the fact that communication with this person, which was once fluid, has come to an abrupt halt and is now extremely difficult.
If physical or partial deafness causes great frustration and pain, how much more serious is the reality of spiritual deafness, or spiritual partial deafness?
All too often, we become voluntarily partially deaf—meaning we only hear what we want to hear! How many times have parents struggled with this phenomenon with their children who only hear what they want to hear!
Examples abound! Mom tells little Célestin to make his bed, take out the trash, and clean the bathroom. She asks little Célestin five times to take care of these household chores, but it seems the little guy is not just partially deaf, but totally deaf.
Changing the scenario, mom makes her request as follows: "By the way, Célestin, we are going to Disneyland for the day, then for ice cream as soon as you have made your bed, taken out the trash, and cleaned the bathroom."
And lo and behold, mom witnesses a miracle in her nine-year-old Célestin. All those chores that Célestin didn't seem to hear the first five times, he suddenly hears with the greatest clarity the sixth time when they are preceded by the reality of Disneyland rides and multi-flavored frozen delights!
This story can be summarized by a key concept that applies to all of us: we hear and respond to what delights us on a physical, emotional, or even spiritual level.
Let us address this challenge at the level of our spiritual life. The young Samuel, after failing to interpret God's voice three times, finally understood, under the guidance of Eli, his spiritual director, that God was indeed speaking to him. The next time young Samuel heard his name being called, he was called to cry out: "Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening." (1 Sam 3:10) This he did, and he became one of the greatest prophets of Israel.
The psalmist calls out to us with these short, but penetrating words of exhortation:
"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as in the day of Massah in the desert." (Psalm 95:7-8)
For the Jewish people, sin could be defined simply as not listening to the voice of God—becoming deaf, partially deaf, or temporarily deaf to the voice of God.
Jesus had great compassion for the sick, the paralyzed, the blind, the lepers, as well as for the deaf-mute. One of the short, but important rites of the sacrament of baptism is precisely this: the Ephphatha rite. Jesus took pity on the deaf-mute man and healed him by touching his ears and mouth and pronouncing the word Ephphatha, which means "be opened." Immediately, this deaf-mute man regained his hearing, as well as his ability to speak. Incidentally, deafness and speech disorders are intimately linked.
There is a famous Spanish saying related to the subject of deafness:
"No hay peor ciego que aquel que no quiere ver; no hay peor sordo que aquel que no quiere oír."
Translation:
"There is none so blind as he who will not see; there is none so deaf as he who will not hear."
In other words, in the spiritual life, it is all too easy to want to be both deaf, blind, and sometimes mute to the relevant things related to God.
Let us now strive to open our ears, our eyes, and our lips so as to be aware of the various ways in which God can speak to us and to avoid any form of temporary, spiritual deafness.
In all truth, let us pray fervently and sincerely the request of young Samuel in the Temple:
"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."
Here are the many ways in which God can speak to us; let us hope we have open ears.
The Word of God.
One of the most obvious ways God tries to communicate with us is the Bible itself. This is why one of the best definitions of the Bible is simply this: The Word of God!
The Holy Mass.
Then, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, God speaks to us in many ways, including through the Mass readings, the Consecration, and most especially in the Holy Eucharist—which is the real presence of Jesus. The Sacred Host is truly Jesus Himself.
The Priest.
The ordained priest acts in the person of Christ and the more fully the priest lives out the sacred orders, the more God Himself will speak to us with power. Let us pray that there may be more priests and more holy priests!
The Commandments.
Jesus expressed it with great clarity:
"If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (Jn. 14:15)
How many times, teaching catechism to First Communion children, have I told them that God truly speaks to us. One of the clearest ways God speaks to children is through the voice of their parents. "Thus, when you children obey your parents, you are truly obeying God." By the way, that's the 4th commandment.
The Homily.
When we attend Holy Mass on Sunday, we must not only participate fully, actively, and consciously in the Holy Mass, but we must also pay special attention to the priest and his homily during the Mass. This should be God's message for us each week and we should try to observe it and put it into practice!
Chance?
Nothing happens "by chance." We do not believe in chance, nor in luck, nor in fate, nor in fortune tellers, nor in crystal balls. We rather believe in Divine Providence. Everything that happens in life is willed or at least permitted by God. That being said, God may allow bad things to happen in order to bring good out of that evil.
Even in the most difficult and painful circumstances of our lives, God is present and working there for our spiritual well-being. Sometimes, it is only later in life that we can see how the hand of God worked in our anguish, suffering, and apparent failures to bring about a greater good.
When we are too close to the tapestry, our sight is limited; but when we step back, we can see the entirety of the artistic masterpiece. An eagle sees the entirety of the mountain better than the ant at the foot of the mountain.
Likewise, God sees a bigger picture and is present in the many complex and even complicated circumstances of our lives. Trust Him!
What a beautiful prayer: JESUS, I TRUST IN YOU!
A Well-Formed Conscience.
It falls to parents to form the conscience of their children. As adults, we must also continue to work on forming our own conscience. If we do not, we sin and we hurt God, ourselves, and others. It is then that our conscience experiences remorse; God intervenes and pricks our conscience when we sin. This is indeed another way for God's voice to be heard.
Heavenly Inspirations.
Another mode by which God can speak to us is through heavenly inspirations. The Holy Spirit enlightens our mind with the Truth and when we follow it, we experience consolation.
Interior Locutions.
Interior locutions are related to the subject of heavenly inspirations. This is when the Holy Spirit, by a gentle but insistent interior Word, speaks in the depths of our heart. However, if we do not have recollection and interior silence, it will be difficult for us to catch the gentle but insistent voice of the sweet guest of the soul, the Holy Spirit.
The Praying Presence of the Virgin.
How many times in the history of the Church, as well as in the lives of the saints, has the Virgin intervened very powerfully in her visits. Likewise, her statues, paintings, portraits, icons, churches, cathedrals, basilicas, poems, hymns, medals, rosaries, scapulars—all of these make us aware of God's love which fills us with the perpetual presence of OUR LADY OF PERPETUAL HELP!
In conclusion, friends in Jesus and Mary, like little Célestin who could not hear his mother's voice until she introduced Disneyland and ice cream into the conversation, we too can sometimes be partially deaf spiritually.
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Let us pray that from now on we pray with great sincerity and docility, truly thinking of the words of young Samuel:
"Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening."
For
"My delight is in your word that I meditate day and night!" (Psalm 1:2).
This article was originally published in English by Catholic Exchange (Article Link).