Hearing God in the Everyday

I have assaulted you too much of late with Garrigou-Lagrange. And I cannot promise that I shall not do so in the future. So much of what he has to say is so interesting and relevant to the central interests of this blog. However, today we will not start with him, but with another, who has some helpful advice.

from Awarkening Your Soul to the Presence of God
Fr. Kilian J. Healey, O. Carm.

We often read of visions, apparitions, and revelations in which God spoke to the saints. St. Paul on the road to Damascus is a classic example. And we read in the life of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque that, while she was engaged in prayer, Jesus often spoke to her of the devotion to His Sacred Heart.

Such conversations with God are not rare in the lives of the canonized. But must we in our conversation with God await the appearance of Jesus, or some heavenly voice or extraordinary apparition, some heavenily manifestatiion from God? Absolutely not. It is true that God does single out some chosen souls to whom He speaks directly and who actually experience the divine power working in them, but these are very few; it is not the way that God ordinarily uses. We should not even desire that God speak to us in this extraordinary manner. We should not expect it. Visions and revelations are not necessary for us to grow in deep love for God. We may fall deeply in love with Him and practice faithfully the presence of God, yet never receive any extraordinary manifestations from Him. These are special gifts, and God gives them to whom He wills, and when He wills.

I note this merely to make the point once again that even the most extraordinary prayer life may be entirely bereft of visions. Conversely, it is entirely probable that one who is barely out of the starting gate in prayer may get all manner of visions and locutions that are legitimate and real. Why God should do this is certainly beyond my ability to tell; but His will is His will. We should not judge the sanctity of a person by the frequency of their visions or by the presence of even a single such vision. It says nothing whatsoever of the person. God graces whom He will at the time He chooses for His own purposes. These purposes are always to bring His own closer to His heart.