The Bishop's Perspective - The Art and Virtue of Listening

You’re probably familiar with the proverb, “God gave us one mouth, but two ears”; that is, it’s more important for us to listen than to speak. These four weeks of the Advent season are a good time to ask ourselves whether we are paying attention to others. How well do we listen? Do we let our emotions cause us to react rashly? Do we take time to listen before speaking?

Most of us are blessed with five basic senses: the ability to see, speak, smell, taste and hear. It’s the ability to hear that has a two-fold dimension: to hear is one thing but to listen is quite another.

The ability to really listen to another is a skill that must be learned; and to listen attentively and compassionately so the person feels valued and safe to share what’s in their heart, is truly an art. Jesus was an amazing listener. He listened to others’ needs, and allowed people to express their fears, worries and concerns in such a way as to set them free from emotional bondage. Jesus showed us that listening is a virtue and essential to pastoral ministry.

During the Advent season, we are invited to practice this virtue of listening, along with the virtue of patient preparation as we keep waiting in joyful hope, not only for Jesus’ first coming, which we celebrate on Christmas, but also in anticipation of his final coming at the end of time, whether that’s at the end of our time in this
world, or if it’s the end of all time when Jesus comes at the parousia (i.e. the Second Coming of Christ).

The Advent season invites us to focus our attention more deliberately and intentionally on that patient preparation and to ask ourselves: Are we listening to the Holy Spirit? Is our faith motivating our actions? Do we listen with our hearts to the needs and wants of our sisters and brothers in Christ?

These are also the questions that the Universal Church is asking of herself. Pope Francis has called the entire Body of Christ throughout the world to a time of synodality, to remind us that we are all making our journey of faith through this world, “on our way” to the Kingdom of God in Heaven. And the Holy Father is asking how we are being the Church for one another along the way, which is really what the term “synod” means. (see “The Synod on Synodality, page 22)

As Pope Francis said during the Opening Mass for the synod in Rome:
“Participating in a synod means placing ourselves on the same path as the Word made flesh. It means following in His footsteps, listening to his Word along with the words of others. It means discovering with amazement that the Holy Spirit always surprises us, to suggest fresh paths and new ways of speaking. Therefore, let us not ‘soundproof’ our hearts; let us not remain barricaded in our certainties. Let us listen to one another.

”Imagine what a difference we can make if we, like Jesus, would just take the time to listen to each other, and thereby allow the voice of the Holy Spirit to inspire us to see, to know and to hear what he is guiding us to do.

This Advent I invite you to consider incorporating these three practices:

1. Listen for God’s voice in the silence. Add an extra 5 minutes to your daily prayer routine; or if you’re not praying regularly each day, begin a daily prayer ritual.'
2. Seek God’s mercy by availing yourself of the life-renewing grace of the sacrament of Reconciliation, and also consider asking someone whom you’ve offended to forgive you.
3. Give of yourself to others by generously giving of your time, your talent or your financial resources to help the needs of the poor through your practice of the Spiritual and Corporal Works of Mercy.

May our Advent be a time to eliminate anything that has been “soundproofing our hearts” and install more spiritually sensitive listening devices. Let us learn from Jesus the virtue of listening to all those who are poor in any way, as we patiently prepare for the coming of Christ anew into our lives through the inspira-tion and direction of his Holy Spirit.

God Bless you!