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Fr. Tom Wilson, Pastor March 31, 2016

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for how many of you is this the first time you've ever been to the Easter Vigil raise your hands everybody was pretty much coming into the church are they have their hands out unless you've been here before okay not too many for those of you who are new we're just getting started all right we are just getting started guide has interacted with his people to to rescue us and in the whole bed all right and how many of you are our visitors to All Saints raise your hands okay we got quite a few who are who are visitors this will be new but those of you who are regular you know that every once in awhile when I do when I do homilies I will I will ask the people who are here at Mass to take a minute or two to to do some reflection and to do some thinking about on some some type of a guided question or a memory or just to ask God to the spark something within their mind and in their heart right I do that every every once in awhile there's a couple of read things I I do that okay number one all right number one is is to help Focus what we're going to do in the in the homily that day to try to to try to get people's thoughts and prayers geared towards what we're trying to point out from the from the scriptures or or what we're doing liturgically that day right the second reason okay the second reason is to get people in opportunity to connect with God actually it's actually very very consciously put themselves in it in a situation where there are trying to connect with God for at least at least a brief moment and send the third reason I do that is very very specifically to allow people to get a moment of silence a moment of silence and most of the time most of the time when we do all rights the wrestling does stop it really does stop every once in a while we got human beings in the place okay some of those human beings are kind of small and sometimes when we're not planning on it in the general in general it stays quiet and for those of you who are who are regulars alright I tell you to keep your eyes closed all right but I don't keep my eyes closed all right I don't I look out look out it's probably 60/40 50/50 as far as people who are who are who really I've got their eyes closed and had at least from my very very imperfect Vision are looking like they're really doing some connection okay section the other 50 to 60 or 40 to 60% whatever it is our fidgety alright it's alright it's almost like it's driving him crazy right and it is certainly not my intent to drive people crazy right and sometimes people really like that okay I've had people come and say all that was really good I've had some people say what are you wasting my time for we could have been done a minute and a half earlier of mass okay alright and the truth is alright the truth is that people get something out of it maybe they don't they're probably good arguments in both directions and that's so Eric I just think it's perfect it's not it's not but there's something there okay there's something there that tells us something about Silence about silence and what it does to people what it does people it will drive some people crazy it will drive some people crazy to be in silence and I will never forget I will never forget is a very very young priest suppressor came in wanted some spiritual advice was kind of growing in the Lord and I said you know what the greatest thing that you can do for your own spiritual life is to go up to this Retreat Center this this hermit retreat center and say Francis Minnesota punch him in tears it's a beautiful place alright who got into the woods and it will one room no electricity cabin for a and I I sent her they are taking my great young priest I'm going to help this woman grow in the Lord all right she came back she came back the next day and said I was there for 3 hours and I couldn't handle it I could not handle that I could not handle the quiet I could not handle the silence I couldn't handle the sounds of nature without any other noise and I learned something I learned something not everybody is built not everybody is prepared to enter into the silence not everybody is prepared to enter into what will happen in that silence and the truth is the truth is that we live in a culture that tries to create so much he's around it's every it's everywhere we are bombarded with noise from media we are bump is around is weird noise of of the world in all sorts of different situations and that noise isn't necessary just audible but it's visual to it's all over the place and there's a reason there's a reason that there's no noise out there and that in sometimes the noise a good sometimes just joyful but often it sent to get just distracted because what happens in the silence what happens in the silence is that we get to go to places very very deep in our hearts we get to go to places very very deep in the heart word of God if we're paying attention and the truth is one of the reasons why that place up at st. Frances parchment terrorist is so popular among people who pray is precisely that cuz it's a place to get cash did very very deeply with god without distraction in the midst of Silence in the midst of Silence I don't think it's an accident that when you go when you go to places particularly places that would like to set the rate for you from their money from your money and it's noisy all the time it's noisy all the time cuz it distracts us from Who We Are silence actually is beautiful but we are candy and culturally to have it drive us crazy and that's a very very sad thing because great and beautiful things happen in the silence think about what we are celebrating tonight Jesus resurrection from the dead Tunes cemeteries are very quiet places they are very very quiet places in the neighborhood that I grew up in with a very little Cemetery Cemetery in the in the parish I was in I had two friends literally that border each side of the cemetery and they were they would be pastured with clever things from their friends saying like they don't make much noise all right but the truth is the truth is as cemeteries and tombs are quiet places they are also places of grand transformation think about Mary Magdalene and the other women running to the tomb expecting a silent place to take care of the body of Jesus and what happened in that tomb what happened in the Silence of that too is that the world was completely turned upside down and Tran Jesus rises from the dead Jesus goes down to the Gates of  Breaks those doors open allows the righteous Souls from up until then to escape the place of a dead person to escape turn to heaven the world is transformed those were gone before are transformed those who will come after are completely transform those who experience the Risen Lord are completely transform and Shane's world that's what happens in the silence that's what happens in silence that's what happens when people get near to God I don't think it's possible I do not think it is possible for a human being to get near to God without escaping and being in places of Silence yes quite literal Silence from the audible but also the silence in the depths of our heart I think it is natural I think it we are created that way as we know we know from tonight's that human beings are created to be near and close to God we are create hearts that want to have him present we are created with hearts that desire to have him fill them but so many things around us to strap so many things around us to distract and if we are able if we are able to cut through that and then listen in a silenced to the voice of God we can get the goal that lies silently within our hearts to be United with him and to respond to that which goes on which which happens in The Silence of our own Hearts tonight as we get prepared experience in Spades the presence of God in their life excited to be coming into the church excited to have a profound experiences of God and they remind us by their Journey of Faith that we are also called to experience the same thing that they have even though we may be there Elder brothers and sister in the face for now alright they have something to teach us the teachers to listen to teach us to pay attention to teach us to seek out the Silence of the place where God is present and we can hear it's a profound and beautiful thing to experience the silence in the presence of God it is no accident it is no accident that the actions of the noise of the world precisely minion tutu to keep us away from hearing that gentle voice of God because it is when does it the Disciples of Jesus that's you and me hear that voice and respond to the world is changed the world is change profoundly because we listen and as we listen then we become we become the leaven that will be talked about in one of the readings tomorrow that we become 11 it takes only a little bit it takes only a few to change and transform the world a few transform hearts that go into the silence to listen to the voice of God change the entire world it started with 12 it started with 12 and we can be part of that if we make the decision we make a conscious decision to enter into silence and yes some people may be driven crazy every once in awhile minute or two of silence as we enter into the homily some people may take it as a as a piece of respite cuz it's the only time they get it during the entire week both of those things I think they're pretty sad I think they're pretty sad because the truth is we're made to enter into with the Lord in the Silence of our hearts and we have to choose it not just every once in awhile when I force it on you but every single day every single day to get near and close to the Lord in the Silence of our hearts transformation happens transformation happens when the people of God connect with the God who loves them transformation happens when we have that in I want her with the Risen Lord just like Mary Magdalene and the other disciples had at the at the tomb transformation happens in Hearts when a transformation happens in Hearts it also happens in the world and it begins it all begins in the Silence of our own Hearts connecting closely with God but transformation in the heart of every individual then becomes Transformer ocean in the world that Jesus calls us to be part

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