silence
How To Stay Spiritually Awake
1st Sunday of Advent – Year A
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: November 30, 2025
Keep Awake! This is the message we hear from Jesus as we begin the Season of Advent. Now I have tell you something about myself. When I was in the seminary studying I was well known for falling asleep in class. In fact, the other guys would sometimes bet on how quickly I would dose off. That is why I am very understanding if any of you fall asleep during my homily. One day as a joke my uncle gave me an ear piece that you put on your ear and when your head fell forward it would ring to wake you up. Very practical way to keep awake in class.
Falling asleep in class did not really matter much, but falling asleep spiritually really matters. Jesus speaks urgently to his disciples, “keep awake.” It is his message to you and me, “keep awake.” Falling asleep spiritually leads us away from a relationship with the living God. It blinds us to the beauty of our world and our life. It prevents us from being an instrument of God’s peace in the world.
What causes us to fall asleep spiritually? It is usually not something that happens due to some major event or happening. Usually it is just a slow drifting away without even realizing it is happening. Our hearts become cool and we lose our connection to the living God.
It is very much the same as what can happen in a marriage, or a friendship, or within families. Slowly we stop connecting, stop talking, stop listening to the other. Slowly we stop paying attention and reaching out to the other. Slowly the relationship becomes cold and empty.This can also happen to us spiritually in our relationship with God.
It can happen even when we are still coming to Mass, still acting as Christians on the surface. We can spend time talking about God, reading the Bible, but that does not substitute for talking with God. Spiritual death comes slowly when we stop talking with God.
Jesus realizes how easy it is for us to full asleep spiritually. What do we need to do to keep awake? Just like in any relationship, in a marriage, a friendship, a colleague, we need to do something to keep that relationship awake and alive. Here I will present just a few things that you might want to do during Advent to keep awake in your relationship with God.
1. Listen to Scripture. One challenge of a good relationship with friends or family, is to listen to them. In fact, listening carefully to another person is like a form of prayer. So, take some time to listen carefully to the Word of God in the Bible. Perhaps during Advent, plan on reading one of the gospels and listen carefully to what you hear there about Jesus.
2. Come to be at the Sacraments, especially the Sunday Mass. In a healthy relationship we need to find ways to be with those we love. We know how difficult it is when those we love live in another country or far away. It takes real effort to be with them. Spiritually, Jesus left us the Mass as a way for us to spend time with him. It takes some effort, some time, perhaps even sometravel to come and be with Jesus in the Eucharist. But, that time with Jesus is important to keep your heart from becoming cold.
3. Confession. Advent is a time when many will make the effort to celebrate the Sacrament of Confession. No community or relationship can continue to exist without forgiveness. Sometimes we fail each other, we let each other down, we hurt each other. It requires one who is ready to admit they were wrong, to confess that they are sorry. It requires another to say I forgive you.
This is true in any family or any community. It is so important that Jesus has left us a Sacrament to come and confess our sins and experience God’s forgiveness through the words and actions of the priest.
4. Apps for prayer. You might be surprised that I would suggest using Apps. It is true that Social media can be a distraction in our relationships and interfere with our communication. Also, our phones can take us away from prayer, take our attention away from God, lead us to fall asleep spiritually. But there are tools that can also help us. Apps that assist us to pray, that provide us with reminders to pay attention to God. Such good Apps can be like Jesus calling to us, Keep Awake. So, search for a good App that provides tools to lead you into prayer.
5. Silence. We cannot be with others in a good way if we do not take time for silence. Times of silence open our hearts to be able to hear others more clearly. This Advent commit to some times of silence, maybe in a church or maybe out on a walk or in a room in your house.
We need to honestly look to see if in our relationship with God we are not falling asleep. What do you need to do to keep awake? I was given an ear piece to keep me awake in class, what do you need to keep awake spiritually? Take some time to review your life, your relationship with God. Are you falling asleep?
What is one or two small things you can do during this Advent to Keep Awake? Listen to God by reading the gospels. Spend time with God in the Sacraments, especially the Mass. Confess your sins honestly in the Sacrament of Confession and experience God’s forgiveness. Find a good App that will help you in your prayer. Take some time of silence.
My homily today could have been very simple, the words of Jesus in his preaching in today’s
Gospel. Hear those words throughout this coming week. Keep Awake.
Silence
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: January 1, 2025
If you wanted to explain God to someone, how would you do it? What words or concepts would you use?
Silence….
When we pray, our words can have some value. Some of our concepts and images of God can help to lead our heart towards the mystery of God. But, our words always fall so short of the reality of God. Silence is the most honest place to encounter the mystery of God.
“Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart” In silence Mary pondered them in her heart. As we come to the end of 2024 and beginning of 2025, we would do good to follow this example of Mary. Take time to ponder all that is happening in your life, to treasure God’s presence in ways you do not understand. Enter into silence to be embraced by the mystery of God.
Close your eyes, let us take now a moment of silence to dwell in the presence of the living God.
Some of us will have new year resolutions for this year. One good one might be to commit to a time of silence each day. If just beginning, start very small and short. Even just 5 minutes a day, with everything shut off, sit in silence, not to say anything, not expecting to hear anything, just to be in the presence of God.
Knowledge is a good thing. Experience is a good thing. But, it is in Silence that our knowledge and experience are able to become wisdom.
“Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart” We also need the wisdom that comes from silence, like Mary when we treasure and ponder in our heart.
Silence
Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: Jan. 1, 2022
What is the closest thing to God in the entire universe?
Silence.
When we pray, our words can have some value. Some of our concepts and images of God can help to lead our heart towards the mystery of God. But, our words always fall so short of the reality of God. Silence is the most honest place to encounter the mystery of God.
“Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart” In silence Mary pondered them in her heart. As we come to the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022, we would do good to follow this example of Mary. Take time to ponder all that is happening in my life, to treasure God’s presence in ways we do not understand. Enter into silence to be embraced by the mystery of God.
Close your eyes, let us take now a moment of silence to dwell in the presence of the living God.
Some of us will have new year resolutions for this year. A good resolution might be to commit to a time of silence each day. If just beginning, start very small and short. Even just 5 minutes a day, with everything shut off, sit in silence, not to say anything, not expecting to hear anything, just to be in the presence of God.
Knowledge is a good thing. Experience is a good thing. But, it is in Silence that our knowledge and experience are able to become wisdom.
“Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” We also need the wisdom that comes from silence, like Mary, we need to treasure and ponder in our heart.
The Catholic Faith Video Series: Your Tough Questions Answered [Video #11]
Question: How do you seek God in your daily life?
Please watch video below for answer:
If you prefer to read, below is Deacon Tom’s Answer:
So, it’s a great question…people say you know God is everywhere, but how do I find God in my daily life, where is the best place to do that? Well, the first thing important is to say that you are seeking Him, so you are finding him is what you are actually doing.
First of all is acknowledging that he’s there, that’s the number one thing. First, we acknowledge that God exists, God is in our lives, and that God wants to have a relationship with us. God cares about us. When you have that, then it makes it easier to know that when I’m seeking, you’re trying to find him. I already have that expectation that he is going to respond. So how do we do that, well there’s quite a number of ways, just to give a few examples today.
The first one would be nature. Nature is a fantastic way if you go for a walk in the park, or I remember once being out in Banff National Park at Lake Louise, the beauty of the mountains, the smell of the trees, you stop and smell and be sensitive, you can feel God’s presence there, you see that awesomeness that creates such a wonderful thing.
Second, people to coming into our lives is another way. You could be at Fortinos shopping, and all of a sudden, a person comes you hadn’t seen in a while. And you know that they need you for some reason, whether it’s just to talk to you or something they need help with…that to me is God’s presence coming forward. God is asking us to respond to them, he’s using us as his hands and feet in the world. God is present in that moment and when we recognize that that God is using us, again we can feel God’s presence in the world today.
The same kind of thing happens if for some reason, you could be at home, you could be at work, wherever you are, the hockey rink, and you’ve got suddenly this, this feeling you’re, you know, some call it a feeling your gut or a feeling, your conscience that, you know I really need to call that person. There’s something’s weighing on my heart. And when that is that’s God putting the Holy Spirit, is pulling your heart to be the presence of that person today.
Or if you have someone, you’re you know you’re feeling a bit down, and all of a sudden someone calls you, or someone knocks on your door and you realize that God is sending him in they’re seeing that person’s face Jesus himself present, coming to you.
The other time of course is in the quiet moments, it could be in prayer or it could be just in quiet meditation, sitting in quietness. We have that beautiful story in the Bible of Elijah the prophet, and we know that he was seeking God, he wanted to find God. And he went out and he’s standing on the side of the mountain, and, you know, the huge fire came by and God wasn’t there, and the wind came by God wasn’t there, an earthquake came by and God wasn’t there, but in the silent, silent, smallest whisper of the wind that he just barely perceive, he knew that God’s presence was there.
That quiet I think it was with one thing I would recommend that most you can do in these days especially, is not to be so busy, to take some time, whether it’s in the morning, and lunch or coffee break in the car even turn off the radio, turn off the podcast, that quiet moment where God can speak to your heart, you can feel and hear that presence. That is really one of the best ways to do it is just to take and not an hour or two, but sometimes it’s just three four minutes, that quiet moment where you’re listening, and God can be able to speak.
God Has Spoken
Christmas 2020
Fr. Mark Gatto
Posted: December 25, 2020
Luke describes a vision of shepherds going in haste to see something special. A multitude of Angels were praising God singing, “Glory to God in the highest heaven,…” It all seems like such a wonderful, magical moment. But, what we see is such a simple, ordinary and very human scene. A mother, a father and a weak new born baby.
The Word became flesh. A child was born among us wrapped in swaddling clothes. In this little baby, the God of the universe, the God who is beyond all and embraces all, wanted to speak to humanity. God entered our history and time, became one of us, to speak a word to us.
So, we speak of Jesus as the Word of God and sometimes speak of Jesus as the face of God.
The invisible God was made visible in our midst.
In Jesus, the Word made flesh, what has God spoken to humanity? Here are a few words that capture some of the ultimate Word that God spoke to us in the coming of Jesus:
Love. That God is love and that we are loved by this God and that we are all called to live a life of love. We are all connected in a love beyond anything we can imagine. Wherever there is true love in this life, we are connected to God. It is love that keeps us connected to those who have died and gone before us. Love and connection is the foundation and basis of our universe. God’s Word is a word of love.
Human dignity. St. John Paul II once described Christianity as “an attitude of amazement at the dignity of the human being.” We need to recognize our own dignity, each one of us has a dignity rooted in God. Therefore, we need to treat each person in this life with a sense of their dignity. The homeless, the poor, those of other religions or no religion, each member of our family, each friend and each stranger. The dignity of each human being should be the guide to every decision we make politically, economically, personally. How we respond to refugees, to people of other nations and to each neighbour. God’s Word reveals our human dignity.
Forgiveness. So much guilt can afflict us, but God has spoken a word of forgiveness. God is so generous in offering forgiveness. God is extreme, even seeming foolish in offering forgiveness. God wants to overcome evil, not by force or violence, but by wiping it out through forgiveness.
This should lead us to make forgiveness the heart of our way of life, our spirituality. In fact, we recognize that call to forgiveness, in order to be like God, each time we pray the Lord’s Prayer. God’s Word says to us, “I forgive you.”
Poor. The rich and the powerful and the famous are not worth more than the poor, the weak, the unknown. God sees beyond all of our world’s ways of judging. God did not come as a powerful force to dominate and control the world. God came as a poor little baby with no power at all. For the God of the universe does not desire to control us but to set us free. God’s Word is a word to the poor, including the poverty in each one of us.
The final word that I will use today that captures something of that Word of God spoken in Jesus, is the word, Kind. This is a God who is everlasting kindness. When we are kind, we are being like God. When I decided to become a priest, my father only had one piece of advice, “be kind to the people.” It seemed so simplistic. Yet, the choice to be kind makes a big difference in our world.
Think about your own experience. During your day, when one person shows you kindness how does that make you feel? But, if one person shows you unkindness during the day, how does that make you feel? A kind word or a kind act can make such a difference.
God’s Word is a word that says, Be Kind.
In Jesus, the Word of God, our God has spoken to humanity. The words I shared here capture some of what God wanted to say to us. Take some time to think about what other words you would include in this story. Someone once asked, “what is the most valuable prayer of Christmas?” His answer was, that the most valuable prayer of Christmas is Silence.
This Christmas, take a moment of silence, listen in your heart to the word God has spoken in Jesus and listen within for the word spoken to you.
Mary Pondered Them…The Value Of Silence – Fr. Mark
Feast of Mary, Mother of God
Fr. Mark Gatto
Preached: January 1, 2019
What is the closest thing to God in the entire universe?
Silence…
When we pray, our words can have some value. Some of our concepts and images of God can help to lead our heart towards the mystery of God. But, our words always fall so short of the reality of God. Silence is the most honest place to encounter the mystery of God.
“Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart” . In silence Mary pondered them in her heart. As we come to the end of 2018 and beginning of 2019, we would do good to follow this example of Mary. Take time to ponder all that is happening in my life, to treasure God’s presence in ways we do not understand. Enter into silence to be embraced by the mystery of God.
Close your eyes, let us take now a moment of silence to dwell in the presence of the living God.
Some of us will have new year resolutions for this year. One might be to commit to a time of silence each day. If just beginning, start very small and short. Even just 5 minutes a day, with everything shut off, sit in silence, not to say anything, not expecting to hear anything, just to be in the presence of God.
Knowledge is a good thing. Experience is a good thing. But, it is in Silence that our knowledge and experience are able to become wisdom.
“Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart”. We also need the wisdom that comes from silence, like Mary when we treasure and ponder in our heart.
Silence Of The Desert – Fr. David
1st Sunday of Lent – Year B
Fr. David Reitzel
Preached: Feb 25 2018