I do believe God has spoken to me several times. When God speaks to me, it’s a voice that can’t be ignored. Back when He called me to pursue a vocation to the Carmelites, I tried to ignore that voice. But, once evening in the chapel, I asked God what He wanted me to do, and I heard a voice say “Go to the Carmelites.” It was a voice that wasn’t exactly external- I knew no one in the chapel had said it. But it was a voice that didn’t come for me, either. It was a voice that surprised me so much, it made me laugh out loud in the chapel! Right after that, I had to suppress the urge not to run to the nearest monastery- once I had heard His voice, I wanted to follow it immediately to wherever it was calling me. I entered a Carmelite monastery shortly after, but almost immediately fell into deep depression felt a sense of darkness around me. It was so oppressive, I felt that I had to leave immediately. I ended up staying a week there, but it was incredibly difficult to stay even one day there. I believe this was also the voice of God.
In both cases, it was a voice that I tried to ignore, but couldn’t. It was persistent, and once I had heard it, I wanted to act. It may seem strange to hear that I believe God called me to the monastery only to ask me to leave immediately. I don’t know for certain why, but I do believe that I did exactly what He asked me to do. If you are interested in reading more about this experience, I wrote about it here:
“What God’s Voice Sounds Like”
Other times, God has spoken to me words of comfort. A fews months after leaving the monastery, and still very much confused about why I hadn’t been called to stay there, I prayed in the confession line that God would speak through the priest and tell me something He wanted me to hear. After I said my sins in the confession, the priest paused for a long while. Then he said, in a different tone of voice than he had used before, “God is very pleased with you. He loves you very much.” Tears started streaming down my face almost immediately. It was a voice that penetrated me, broke me down. A voice of someone who had gazed into the deepest part of me, and knew me completely. It was an amazing experience, and still brings me comfort now, even though it happened several years ago.
I also believe that God speaks to us through books, catholic radio, scripture, friends, etc. like you mentioned. I definitely believe that God is intimately aware of our daily needs, and fills them through those ordinary everyday things. Mother Teresa thoroughly believed this: "God made the world for the delight of human beings-- if we could see His goodness everywhere, His concern for us, His awareness of our needs: the phone call we’ve waited for, the ride we are offered, the letter in the mail, just the little things He does for us throughout the day. As we remember and notice His love for us, we just begin to fall in love with Him because He is so busy with us – you just can’t resist Him. I believe there’s no such thing as luck in life, it’s God’s love, it’s His.” -Mother Teresa
