From Living Faith Daily Catholic Devotions (Jan/Feb/Mar 2026)

First Week in Ordinary Time

1 Samuel 3:1-1, 19-20 + Psalm40:2, 5, 7-10 + Mark 1:29-39

Making Sense of God’s Voice

So Eli said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'” 1 Samuel 3:9

Like many of you, I’m guessing, I have a love-hate relationship with modern technology. I am grateful for what it brings into my life but suspicious of its ultimate impact on my mind and spirit.

That said, the advances in translation apps, for example, are really life-changing, aren’t they? They make travel less stressful, as I can point my camera at a menu and be assured that I’m not accidentally ordering goat brains. I mean, when in Rome and all, but I have my limits.

Translating God’s voice has never – and never will be – as easy as that. Like Samuel, when we fail to recognize him, we’re mystified. We may not have an app, but we still have the gift Samuel had – the wisdom of others in daily life, through Scripture and tradition – to help us make sense of God’s voice.

Lord, speak, your servant is listening.

□ Amy Welborn