Samuel, from his birth, was consecrated to
the Lord by his parents. However, Samuel needed to say “yes” to that act of
consecration, that covenant his parents did with God. Having been entrusted to the care of Eli, he
spent his life in the temple of the Lord. He lived what Psalm 27: 4 says: “One
thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house
of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to
seek him in his temple.” While recognizing that this is a special vocation,
we can still learn a lot from Samuel’s call.
The Lord called Samuel
and he replied “Here I am.” He was able to hear the Voice but couldn’t
recognize that It was God calling him. His experience makes us understand that
in the matters of faith, experience is vital. Who among us can say that it is
easy for him or her to recognize God’s voice, discern the spiritual meaning
behind events, both personal and in the society today? Spiritual discernment
often requires patience, humility, guidance, and a willingness to listen
carefully.
Another important
message is creating condition favorable to listening and hearing the voice of
God. God called Samuel during the night, when everywhere was calm. This teaches
us that through silent meditation we learn to listen to God’s voice. The noise
we are talking about here is not only external but also internal. This is one
of the key challenges faced by Christians: being able to listen, discern what
God is telling us; understanding the meaning of various events happening in the
world today.
Eli played a key role in
helping Samuel discern the voice of God and answer positively. Despite the fact
that he was unable to educate well his two children, he finally recognized that
it was the Lord calling Samuel. This brings us to what is called “Spiritual
Accompaniment. Unfortunately, many
Christians are not able to get such help but also some do not even recognize
the importance. We cannot discern alone God’s voice; even great saints like
Padre Pio, had a Spiritual father.
Having been told how to
respond, hearing the voice of God the third time, Samuel replies: “Speak for
your servant is listening.” God was waiting for this “yes”. Just like Blessed Virgin Mary at the Annunciation,
who through her “yes” permitted God to do what was humanly impossible, Samuel
gave God that permission. Our Free Will, our Liberty are very precious to God.
The more we surrender to God’s will, allow God be central in our lives, the
deeper we will grow in our spiritual life and understand the meaning of so many
things happening in the world today. Because
God was with Samuel, everything he said had an impact.
Discerning to God’s
voice, spiritual discernment, is not reducible to what happens between a
spiritual father, or mother and the person accompanied. At the center of their
relation there is the Holy Spirit. For Jesus said in John 16: 13 that “The
Spirit will guide you to knowledge of the whole truth.” We live in a world
where truth is fragmented; often opposed to each other. Moral relativism is
gradually imposing itself everywhere. When the Holy Spirit is absent in the
life of individual, we see confusion, division, hatred, evil of all kinds. In 1
Corinthians 6: 13-20, St Paul says that “We are the temple of the Holy
Spirit.” Holy Spirit is a spirit of
communion, unity, love, harmony.
In our world today, many
are in search of direction, meaning, purpose. Unfortunately, not all look for
solution in the right direction.
Our perception of people,
realities is influenced by so many things such as the media our cultural and
social background, personal experiences, education, psychological factors, etc.
Christian life is about having an experiential knowledge of Jesus and leading
others to having the same experience. Therefore, let us ask the Lord the grace
to have a renewed experience of his Love, presence.
Having experiential knowledge of Jesus and leading others to having their own experience is the mission of every Christian
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