Do I Listen?

‘You are not listening to me.’

‘You are not hearing what I am saying.’

‘Are you deaf?’

‘You haven’t heard a word I have been saying.’

‘It fell on deaf ears.’

These are common remarks that we say, or hear others saying to us. To this day, I will always recall the first time in class in primary school when the teacher challenged me by asking: ‘What did I just say?’ I hadn’t a clue. I hadn’t heard a word he was saying.

When it comes to God’s Word, do I listen? Does his Word make a difference to me? Does it change me?

The prophet Isaiah, in the first reading, gives us an image of God’s Word as rain or snow falling to the ground. It is always fruitful and effective. In Genesis, we see how effective God’s Word is. God said, ‘Let there be light’ and there was light. It is God that is the primary agent of the productivity and fertility of the earth. But God’s Word involves some degree of human effort to produce the fullness of its results. The rain waters the earth and makes it fruitful, and helps it to produce seed, but we still need to plant the seed. God’s Word needs our collaboration.

I recall many times when I have heard the words of the Gospel proclaimed at Mass, and then sat down and cannot remember what I had just heard. But the homily can help us reflect, and if I recall what I have just heard, perhaps it takes root in my heart and thus changes the way I think or act. I love the image given to us in Luke’s Gospel which talks about Mary ‘pondering all these things in her heart’. What a lovely word ‘ponder’ is. There needs to be more pondering, more reflecting — more real deep listening in our lives. At the beginning of his Rule, St Benedict writes: ‘Listen carefully, my son, to the master’s instructions and attend to them with the ear of your heart.’

Norvene Vest, in her commentary on the Rule of St Benedict, writes:

‘The first word of the Rule is well known: “Listen!” It is interesting indeed that this Latin word ob-sculta has the same root, and indeed almost the same meaning, as the Latin word ob-oedire, from which the English word obedience comes. There is a very important connection between true listening and deep obedience; both suggest a turning, in order to receive more fully that which is being given.’

Sometimes the potentially powerful living Word bounces off us, like seed that falls on the hardened, impacted soil of the path. What can we do, to become rich soil into which the Word falls and takes root, bears fruit? Here is a way of opening ourselves to God’s word known as Lectio Divina.

Choose a piece of scripture. Perhaps from the Missal, or a programme of readings, or one of your favourites. Then find a comfortable and quiet place. Begin by taking a bit of time to become as quiet as you can, but don’t worry if you still feel edgy or distracted. Lectio Divina starts from where you are now. Often, by listening to your own pattern of breathing without trying to change it, this can be a good way to start. We are making space to allow the words we encounter to take root in us. We are not trying to agree or disagree, make notes, or analyse. We simply want to listen.

— we read a little
— we stop reading and allow our deepest response to surface
— we respond in prayer
— we listen
— then we read a little more…

It is a way to let go of our own preoccupations and allow God’s Word to grow in our hearts.