Ordinary Time 
Pause
Here we are. It's February, and Christmas is not far behind. In one of my favorite songs of that season, we sing, "Do you hear what I hear? A song, a song, high above the trees, with a voice as big as the sea. With a voice as big as the sea.”
Have you ever thought of the sea having a voice?
Do you think of songs you cannot actually hear, but which speak to you?
Are we missing some of the music that might actually sing in our hearts, if we were open to the song?
Let us tune our ears and hearts to the Holy in this moment.
Listen
That evening, at sunset, people brought to Jesus those who were sick or demon-possessed. The whole town gathered near the door. He healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases, and he threw out many demons. But he didn’t let the demons speak, because they recognized him.
Mark 1:32-34
Think
Another healing miracle takes place, this time for many people. And the “bad” voices were rendered speechless. You may wish that it were so. I surely do.
Did you know that in addition to “curing,” the meaning of the word “heal” is also “to set right or repair?” Could this be what happens in some of the healing mysteries? Not that everyone who prays to be healed might be cured of their sickness, but that, with God’s help, they might be set right. Their relationship with God might be repaired. The way might be made straight and the heart made whole again.
When we think about healing in this way, there is new light in the holy mysteries. We may hear something new when we listen to them. We might even discover our own need for healing. Have you heard?
Barbara Gray
Pray
Open my heart, Lord, that I might hear the quiet voices. Help me that I might be able to listen to my own spirit and listen to you. Amen.
Go
Perhaps, with God’s help, we may choose which voices are stronger in our world. Haven’t you heard? Haven’t you heard the good news of God?
Listen to the trees, the geese flying overhead, the quiet sun slipping behind the hill. So much music in the quietest places in our world.
Go. Open your heart to the music of that silence. Let in the music that many never hear. Choose to listen only for the voices that feed your soul.
And you will be new music to others; and you will hear others in new ways. It’s the good news we all are waiting to hear.
