God speaks in the quiet of the desert

		Living the Scriptures  with St. Paul University  Catholic Center  Sr. Raffaella Cavallin

I never thought I'd see a desert in my life. I always felt chills at the idea of finding myself in the desert, without water or without enough gas in the car.

Still, the words of the prophet Hosea often came to my mind in the middle of this frightful thought, offering some comfort and reassurance, "I will lead her into the desert and speak to her heart."

It was to these words that I clung to this past June when I found myself driving in the desert in Southern California. As I watched the gas gauge slowly make its way down toward empty, still a few dozen miles from the nearest town, I prayed to the Lord, asking Him to lead me through the desert as He had so many times with His chosen people.

Eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time (Feb. 26, 2006) Hos 2:16b, 17b, 21-22 Ps 103:1-2, 3-4, 8, 10, 12-13 2 Cor 3:1b-6 Mk 2:18-22

Once again, as in history, the Lord came through, offering me much more than a gas station: He offered me His Word.

The Word of God is really what wipes away our fears, soothes our wounds, and allows us to become the saints we are called to be. It is a Word that surpasses the cacophony of our times and offers peace and love to those who listen attentively to it, or, should I say, to Him.

Jesus Christ is the eternal Word of the Father, the living water that quenches our thirst.

As we reflect upon the image of the Lord speaking in the desert, we are drawn to one particular detail. The Hebrew word that the prophet Hosea uses to describe the desert (midbar) has the same root as the verb "to speak" (dabar) that we find in the same verse. As we lift this little semantic veil, the Holy Spirit blows into our hearts a deeper understanding of the prophet's utterance.

The Lord invites us into the desert so that He can speak to us. He lures us away from the noise of our existence to pronounce those words that alone can fill us. He is "asking us out on a date" in order to reveal the depth of His love for us. Right there, during this heart-to heart-conversation, He will propose eternal fidelity, love, and justice.

	Reflection questions • When have I taken a day or two to retreat in silence with the Lord? • What is my "gas station," the thing that I desire the most at this point of my human and spiritual journey?

As we approach this Lenten season, let us accept Jesus' invitation to go into the quiet of the desert, where we can listen to His promptings and receive the flowing waters of eternal life.

We do not need to drive to Southern California to look for the ideal external conditions. It is enough to retreat to the depths of our hearts, where we will find Jesus, the One who inhabits our souls, ready to take us on a spiritual journey.

Sr. Raffaella Cavallin belongs to a new religious community called "Apostles of the Interior Life." After ministering for four years at the Catholic Newman Center at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Ill., she moved up with Sister Tiziana and Sister Michela to join the staff at St. Paul University Catholic Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She currently offers spiritual direction, does campus evangelization, and runs "Samuel Group," a vocational discernment group at St. Paul's.

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

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