"Speak Lord Your Servant is Listening"

There is a beautiful account in the Old Testament of a young man named Samuel, who is taught how to hear God’s voice by an older man. Samuel is instructed to respond to God’s prompting by praying,

“Speak Lord your servant is listening.”

Do you know that almost every page of the Bible references God speaking or revealing Himself to someone? And yet I have found that most Catholics, even church-going Catholics, do not believe that God can speak to them! Most Catholics believe that God only speaks to “super holy” people and not everyday, ordinary folks.

If you asked any Brother if God speaks to them through prayer, every Brother would respond with a confident and grateful “Yes.” Why is this the case? While it is true that the Brothers are trying to live good and holy lives, it is also true that every Brother is a sinner. The Brothers are able to hear “the Father’s voice” in prayer not because of their own holiness, but because, as Romans 8 states,

“The Holy Spirit comes to the aid of our weakness for we do not know how to pray as we ought.”

Every Brother in their formation years has experienced a grace called “renewal in the Holy Spirit,” where the Holy Spirit that has often been present but inactive in the life of a baptized person comes alive! The last several popes have promoted this, and Pope Francis has commented that “this renewal in the Holy Spirit is a current of God’s grace for everyone.” The Spirit opens a person’s spiritual eyes, ears and heart in a way that human willpower simply cannot.

There are no greater gifts we Brothers can share with our students and young adults than helping them receive this power and grace of the Holy Spirit and teaching them how to pray. You can’t give what you don’t have! We can only help our young people grow in prayer if we remain faithful to our own daily prayer. So, we Brothers devote a few hours each day to prayer.

The impact of this grace of renewal in the Holy Spirit has been remarkable! If you asked the vast majority of our young people if they hear God in prayer, they would say “Yes!” Of course, there are times of silence as if God is not listening. Even in these times the Holy Spirit reassures us that Our Father is always present.

Please pray for us as we will pray for you, our friends and supporters.

God Bless,
Br. Kenneth Apuzzo, BH
General Superior