Today I am sharing two resources from the National Catholic Reporter. I spent the morning on a high school campus and could not agree more with the sentiments of this article, “Look to the teenagers, the ones who remind us how to hope.” And the thoughts below on the importance of listening resonate with how I experience the needs of today as well. Blessings on your week ahead!
Listening- Sr. Nancy Sylvester
Listening is transformative. Whenever I teach about the transformative power of contemplation, listening is a key component. Contemplation invites us to listen in new ways, not simply to our own thoughts but to enter into a deeper silence that at first might seem empty but is actually quite full — of the presence of divine mystery animating our hearts. That silence awakens us to what we might have thought was the way things are and opens us to a new way of seeing ourselves and the world. Over time, contemplation frees us to respond rather than react to the world around us.
Listening is not easy today. We are inundated with podcasts, blogs, videos and photos, all moving across our screens faster and faster. The content might either be totally one-sided or in such a mix that we’re dizzy with what to believe. We need to slow down. Not only to comprehend what is happening but to be able to enter into a stillness where we can see more clearly who we are and what we believe.
We need that stillness to be able to “feel” that shift that jars us to look again with fresh eyes at what we believe. That shift gives us the freedom to change, to use different lenses to see the world and to respond out of love to what is being asked of us today.
Keeping the Faith 