In the Gospel reading today from John 15 and 16, Jesus talks about the Advocate, the Spirit of truth. He also tells the disciples that “the hour is coming when everyone who kills you will think he is offering worship to God.” My, that’s a comforting thought, huh? In our first reading from Acts 16, we are introduced to a woman named Lydia.
Lydia is “a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God.” St. Luke, the author of the Acts of the Apostles, was travelling with Paul. He tells us that Lydia “listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying.” Obviously this had an effect on Lydia. She and her household were baptized that very day. Why? Because Lydia was paying attention.
This makes me think of the many times when I fail to pay attention. And these are many…just ask my wife! It’s particularly troubling when we fail to pay attention at Mass. I think that we are so often trapped in our own busy-ness that we fail to pay attention to God. We just stumble through life, not recognizing the many miracles that God gives us daily. Not paying attention to the people that God puts in our paths to help us along the way. Let’s pray that today we can have our spiritual antennae up and at full alert. Pay attention!
Father, help us to pay attention to you today. May we recognize the many ways that you wish to get our attention, and listen when you do. Amen.
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