Mystical Communication

“The word of the Lord was rare in those days; visions were not widespread.” (1 Samuel 3:1). The Roman Catholic Lectionary today takes us to the story of the calling of Samuel. The communication between the Divine and people is necessarily of a mystical quality. Perhaps there are guidelines we can follow to enhance or ‘tune’ our receiver. Perhaps we miss messages because of the disposition of our being. Eli advised Samuel to lie quiet and wait. Jesus got up early and went to a deserted place to pray. The background of noise in our lives seems to comfort and keep us connected. As we extend the communication metaphor, we may be missing the message in the noise. Today the people of Haiti are waking to witness widespread death and destruction from a serious earthquake. In prayer, our indwelling Spirit is in empathy and support of these people. We are connected as brothers and sisters. We, like Samuel, need to listen for our call to action.