# Listening to God's voice through the simple things
*2020-12-04*

> Bill Young reflects on his 13-year journey of podcasting and shares personal anecdotes about how God communicates through unexpected signs and humble instruments.

## Thirteen Years of Prayer and Lunch

Today is December 4th, and I want to start by inviting you all to my 3 p.m. Zoom prayers for the Chaplet of Divine Mercy and St. Faustina's Litany of Divine Mercy. Looking back, I realized that I just passed my anniversary of podcasting 'Prayer and Lunch.' I started this back in 2007, which means it has been 13 years. Back then, podcasts weren't popular; most people had never even heard of them. The idea to start this didn't come from me, but from the Holy Spirit.

## The Sign of the Fallen Crosses

I want to share a story about my co-host, John O'Rourke. John and I were coworkers, and he is a member of the Legion of Mary, as am I. Last April, before we knew anything about the coronavirus, something strange happened. The cross came off of my rosary—a rosary I received through the church of St. Maxime in Kobe. A few days later, John told me that the cross had also come off of his rosary. 

This felt like a light bulb going on. I asked God, 'What do you want me to do?' I don't consider myself a prophet, and I feel far too lowly and sinful to be a saint, but I felt God wanted me to use the podcast to share a message. I eventually did a podcast about the time when Jesus will come off His cross at the beginning of the thousand-year reign, a time of great peace where there will be no sickness, death, or hatred.

## God's Press Secretary

I say this very humbly, because many people claim to speak for God, but I view myself as something of 'God's press secretary.' Now, a press secretary is not the President; they don't know everything the President is thinking. They only communicate what they are told to communicate. In the same way, I am not God, and I don't know everything. I am simply a vessel. 

I truly feel I am the least of the least. If you were to list everyone from Pope Francis down to the bishops, priests, nuns, deacons, and the laity, I would be at the very bottom. If I thought about it too much, I would break down and cry because I am not worthy. But that is the beauty of grace. None of us are worthy on our own—even St. Peter denied Jesus three times—but the grace of God gives us that worthiness.

## Connecting the Dots

Recently, I experienced another sign. For years, I've noticed things that remind me of the triangle, the shape of the Trinity. One day, around the time Pope Francis called Joe Biden to congratulate him and give him blessings, I went to get my mail and saw two leaves on my front door. One was a black leaf, and the other was something similar. This had never happened in the four years I'd been watching for such signs. 

When I heard the news about the Pope's call, I connected the dots. I believe God made this obvious so that I would see it and speak about it. It wasn't a coincidence. God picks different people for different reasons. I am simply listening to Him, and when He wants to make a point, He makes it quite clear.

*We may feel unworthy and lowly, but God uses the humble to communicate His messages through the grace He provides.*