are you a sleeping priest?
“One day Eli was asleep in his usual place.” —1 Samuel 3:2
The aged priest Eli was sleeping on the job. “Under Eli, a revelation of the Lord was uncommon and vision infrequent” (1 Sm 3:1). However, the infrequent direction from the Lord was not because God had stopped speaking to His people; indeed, the Lord was busy calling out to the youth Samuel (1 Sm 3:4ff).
Parents are priests of their home, the “domestic Church” (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1655, 1657). In addition, all baptized people are priests, prophets, and kings (Catechism, 1268). Therefore, we all are called to stay awake and alert, to listen for the Lord’s voice (see Lk 12:37).
Is a revelation of the Lord uncommon in our lives and our families because we have been sleeping instead of listening for God’s voice? Jesus rose early to pray (Mk 1:35). He also prayed long into the night (see Mt 26:36-45), while His apostles “could not keep their eyes open” (Mt 26:43).
Are we asleep on the watch, like the apostles in the garden of Gethsemane? “It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep” (Rm 13:11). “Awake, O sleeper, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you light” (Eph 5:14).
Prayer: “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening” (1 Sm 3:9).
Promise: “Those whom He cured, who were variously afflicted, were many, and so were the demons He expelled.” —Mk 1:34
Praise: A local church gave witness to Jesus by a pro-life march through town.
Reference: (This teaching was submitted by a member of our editorial team.)
(For a related teaching on Daily Prayers, listen to, download or order our CD 62-3 or DVD 62 on our website.)
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