From today’s New Testament reading, from 1 Corinthians: ‘For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!’

The imperative of handing on the Gospel, the truths of faith, is laid upon all of us. Some will be called to preach in words, and others, by the witness of their lives and their deeds.

Thomas Merton wrote: ‘Preaching God implies silence.  If preaching is not born of silence, it is a waste of time.  Writing and teaching must be fed by silence or they are a waste of time. There are many declarations made only because we think other people are expecting us to make them.  The silence of God should teach us when to speak and when not to speak.  But we cannot bear the thought of that silence, lest it cost us the trust and respect of men’.

May we learn that silence, from which true words – and The Word – emerge. May God bless you this day and keep your soul in peace.