This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to him.... Many times we must listen to him, and also ask him about what we do not understand, what surprises us, or about the decisions we have to make. We will ask him: Lord, in this matter, what do you want me to do, what is more pleasing to you, how can I live my work better, what do you expect from this friend, how can I help him...? And if we know how to be attentive, we will hear these words of Jesus that invite us to a greater generosity and enlighten us to move according to God's will. Truly, we can say to Jesus in our prayer today: Your word is a lamp to my feet, the light of my path, without which I would stumble, aimless and senseless. Guide me, Lord, in my ways and do not leave me in the midst of so much darkness.
God's ears are always attentive to sincere, straightforward and simple prayer, as a son speaks to his father, a friend to his friend. He always hears us, even if at times we have the impression that he does not listen to us. As when Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus as he was leaving Jericho and the latter went on without stopping at the blind man's pleas , or on that other occasion when the disciples ask the Lord to attend to the Syrophoenician woman who follows them without ceasing to plead for her sick daughter. Jesus knew very well the desire of these people and the faith that, with that perseverance in prayer, became firmer and more sincere. He is attentive to what we say, interested in our affairs, he receives the praises, the thanksgiving we address to him, the acts of love, the petitions, and he speaks to us, opens new paths for us, suggests resolutions.... Sometimes prayer will be a conversation without words, as sometimes happens with friends who really know and appreciate each other. But even without words, so many things can be said!
It will often help us to consider in prayer that we are Jesus' closest friends, like the Apostles, that he has called us to serve him from our place of work, and with whom we are to deal with many matters, like those who followed him. "The Lord, after sending His disciples out to preach, upon their return, gathers them together and invites them to go with Him to a solitary place to rest.... What things Jesus would ask them and tell them! And we too must pay attention to Jesus who speaks to us in the intimacy of prayer.
The Lord leaves abundant fruits in the soul, even if at times they pass unnoticed; he speaks then in a barely perceptible way, but he always gives us his light and his help, without which we would not be able to go forward. Let us try to reject any voluntary distraction, let us see what we should take care of to improve that time of conversation with the Lord (guarding the senses, mortification in the usual daily routine, paying more attention to preparatory prayer, asking for more help...) and let us follow the example of the saints, who persevered in their prayer in spite of the difficulties. Very often," recalls St. Teresa, "some years I was more concerned with wishing that the hour would be over that I had for me to be and to listen when the clock struck, than with other good things; and many times I do not know what serious penance was put before me that I would not undertake it more willingly than to collect myself to pray. Let us never give it up, even if at times we find it arid, dry and costly.
St. Peter of Alcantara says: "It is also good to consider that we have the Guardian Angel at our side, and in prayer better than anywhere else, because he is there to help us and to carry our prayers to Heaven and defend us from the enemy".
This is my Son, the Beloved, listen to him.... Jesus speaks to us in prayer. And Our Lady, our Mother, points out to us how we are to proceed: Do whatever he tells you..., she advises us, like the servants at Cana. Because to do what Jesus is telling us every day in personal prayer and through spiritual direction is to find the key that allows us to open the doors of the Kingdom of Heaven, it is to place ourselves in line with God's desires for our own existence. And when we are docile to those insinuations and advices we find that our life is filled with fruits, like those servants of Cana, who, by their obedience to the words of our Holy Mother Mary, found the stone jars full of splendid wine.
Let us go to her and ask her to teach us to speak with Jesus and to know how to listen to him; let us renew our firm resolution to put more and more effort into prayer; let us examine whether we are attentive to what he wants to say to us in this dialogue.