God reveals himself: Do you see the signs?

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Julie Silvernail

Coincidence or divine revelation? God uses people and situations to convey what he wants us to know.

Therefore, we must be open to hear and see Christ in everyone and everything. In Opening up to God in Prayer, Thomas H. Greene, a priest and missionary, proclaims, "God works through human instruments, in forgiving, in consecrating, and in revealing his will."

God used Pope John Paul II to reveal to the contemporary world who we are and how we are to live. One only needs to meditate on Romans 13:14 to know why: "But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof." He also directs us in Isaiah 24:42 to watch for the signs: "Watch, therefore, you will not know which hour the Lord cometh."

First Sunday of Advent (Nov. 28, 2004) Is 2:1-5 Ps 122:1-2, 3-4, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Rom 13:11-14 Mt 24:37-44

At my gym one day, I stopped in the parking lot to lock up my bike. I saw an athletic man place a dirty knapsack on the ground and do a rigorous set of calisthenics. When he completed his stretches he saw me and said, "It's one thing to exercise your body but heavenly to exercise your mind. Here, I'll show you."

He bent down and dusted off his knapsack, "Ya see, I ain't got a physical home and I spent a bit a time in prison, but this here is what develops me now." He pulled out his Bible and explained various verses on sexuality that have helped him to live as a father to other homeless teens and live a chaste life.

Through the Holy Father and this homeless man, I was spoken to "in truth" from the Divine Source. When I seek, he helps me find answers. Each time I say "yes" to God, he continues to reveal signs.

While immersed in Scripture one afternoon at a coffee shop, I began to think about the ways in which God has spoken to me in the past. I lifted my head from the text to the street beyond and saw not one, but three, one-way signs, and next to them a corner store with a brightly lit "Open" sign. A yellow band of tape on the opposite side of the street read "caution" over and over.

	Reflection questions • Are you open to seeing God in everyone? • How has God used others in your life to reveal Divine will?

I knew then that there is only one way to God. As young adults, we should continue to seek divine revelation and ask God to help us put our life on the one-way path that is always open. For that path leads to life, and the other to death.

Julie Silvernail is a member of Mustard Seed and Bible Study at St. Paul University Catholic Center. She is a UW graduate in social work and Spanish, awaiting Peace Corps Service in Paraguay.

St. Paul's Web site is www.stpaulscc.org

Faith Alive!

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