THERE are times when I need to be alone and to be quiet, away from the noises and the busyness of life. There are times when I prefer to stay away from public occasions, when I would rather be anonymous.
During these times, I would close my room, sit comfortably on a chair to mediate, to write, or to read a book. It’s not because I am antisocial–I think I live a decent social life–rather, it’s because I want to respect a part of me that longs for stillness, silence, and focus.
“I can’t multi-task too much anymore,” I told a friend recently. This behavior seems to be true to many of us who are getting older. Perhaps, our bodies and minds are not as strong as before when we were younger. At this period, we’d rather focus on quality of work than quantity of work. At this point, we’d rather conduct or attend short a meeting than a long, dragging one.
We do need to listen to our bodies. We’ve heard this advice many times from other people like our doctors. Our bodies would tell us if we’re eating right or getting enough sleep.
The Scriptures of this First Sunday of Advent calls us to be vigilant. To be vigilant means being able to listen to the longings of our hearts, our spirits, and, yes, our bodies!
We need to listen our longing for peaceful and quiet life. We need to listen to our yearning for deep encounter with God through prayer. We need to hear our craving for rest, clarity of mind, and physical well-being.
“Be aware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life…Be vigilant at all times and pray…” the Gospel tells us this Sunday. More than bringing an apocalyptic message or speaking about the end of times, the Gospel urges us to reflect on, to assess, and to evaluate our lives in the present time.
This goes well with Paul’s Letter to the Thessalonians in the the Second Reading, wherein Paul wishes for Christian maturity in all people. “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for another and for all…to be blameless in holiness before our God and Father,” Paul prays.
As much as it may surprise us, growth in Christian maturity involves saying “no”, at times, to some appetites, invitations, expectations and obligations. We have to be more selective of our involvements with activities, to decide which ones are more life-giving and nourishing. We need to check if social pressures or unrealistic expectations influence our responses to these activities.
In this age of fast-growing technology, when we are overloaded with many information and images, there should be intentional periods when we put aside our cell phones, stop answering or posting Facebook messages, and just learn to be quiet and to be attentive to God and the people around us. For, indeed, if we search honestly and deeply our innermost desires, a great part of them long for peace and solitude.
May this Advent season be for all of us an increase in prayer and grace!
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Reverend Rodel G. Balagtas attended St. John Seminary in Camarillo, California and earned his Doctor of Ministry in Preaching from Aquinas Institute of Theology in St. Louis, Missouri. For twenty years, he has been in the parish ministry of large multi-cultural communities. Since 2002, he has been the pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Los Angeles. Please email Fr. Rodel at [email protected].
