Many people have shared stories about divine encounters with angels in which they received profound guidance, comfort, or instructions on how to proceed with their lives. And many people describe angelic interventions in which they are given a warning about something or someone in their lives . . . Without a doubt we are surrounded by our angels, invisible beings of light who guide us through the mysteries of our lives.
Monks take a vow of obedience...It means a loving listening: listening to the Word of God that comes to us moment by moment, listening to the message of the angel that comes to us hour by hour. The very word obedience means an intensive listening. The opposite of that obedience is absurdity, which means being deaf to life's challenges and meaning. We have the choice in our life between living with this loving listening or finding everything absurd...So the next time you say, "This is absurd," you might consider the more helpful question, "To what am I deaf here?"