How will I know?
Wednesday, June 4, 2025
Fr. Matthew Gomez
Growing up, I remember listening to the “oldies” on car rides. Whether we were going on long car rides during road trips or simple rides to pick up groceries at the local supermarket, my family would almost exclusively listen to the oldies. Caveat: My parents didn’t think they were old songs, and as time has passed, I’ve come to understand their reasoning. The songs I grew up with are not oldies – they’re the classics!
Nonetheless, I particularly remember listening to the wonderful sounds of Whitney Houston’s “How Will I Know” The song was released on November 2, 1985, on her self-titled album. The album produced three number-one hits! It’s also interesting to note that the music video for “How Will I Know” gave her a lot of exposure among teenagers, as it was heavily featured on MTV.
Why am I writing about Whitney Houston’s song? If we do a little bit of theological reflection while listening to the song, it teaches us a beautiful lesson about walking in faith.
We know the song: the subject is singing about the “boy she dreams of” to the point that when she “wakes from dreaming” she asks, “Is it really love?”
Then she asks the questions: “How will I know? How will I know if he’s thinking of me? Why do I feel weak?” As these questions are sung, she says the point of our reflection: “I’m asking you ‘cause you know about these things.”
On our journey of faith, we sometimes fall into the temptation that we need to journey alone. The late Pope Francis was big on reminding us that the journey is made together and that the art of accompaniment must be at the forefront of evangelization (Evangelii Gaudium #169). If we look at the Gospels, we see that Jesus accompanied his disciples for three years before the moment of his death and resurrection. After His resurrection, Jesus still accompanies them before His Ascension. How much more are we called to journey together?
Do we know someone that we can ask to journey with us because they “know about these things?”
Can we be humble enough to ask our parish priest or deacon or religious sister to be our spiritual director? Can we ask a lay pastoral minister from our parish to be our spiritual companion? Can we be vulnerable with our friends and families to share with them our heart?
The questions we have may be a little deeper than “How will I know?” but we don’t have to be left in the dark and alone. We are made for communion and we can journey to heaven together. Let us make a resolution to ask those in our lives who “know about these things” to walk with us, so that in turn we may be able to walk with others when asked.
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