Last Sunday, we reflected on the theme of LISTENING to the WORD of GOD. We said that there is that stages in Christian growth that all undergo - from hearing, to listening and eventually to doing. Our ultimate goal, definitely, is to become DOERS of the Word of God.
Listening is such a laborious task. It is easier to HEAR than to LISTEN. In listening, you put your heart at work. You do not listen with your ears but with your heart. You need patience when you listen, something that a lot of us are lacking as well. In this age of "everything INSTANT," being patient is seemingly a waste of time. We want everything INSTANT. And sadly enough, even in our communication, we want everything INSTANT, therefore, we fail to really LISTEN. We fail to pay attention. We fail to focus. Hence, we fail to truly communicate. Most of the time, we simply pass on a message, nothing more.
My dear brothers and sisters, today and everyday, Jesus is asking us to LISTEN not only to His words in the Bible but also to LISTEN to His words in others. Jesus speaks to us through creation around us - through the trees, the plants, the flowers, the animals, the rivers .... He speaks to us through the natural events that happen around us. Do we listen??? Jesus speaks to us through the needs of our brothers and sisters - the poor, the sick, the dying, the homeless, the destitute, the lonely, the lost. Do we listen??? What hinders us to listen is our inability to STOP for a while ... this world has made us so busy with so many things, unfortunately some are unnecessary, that we forget to STOP momentarily from the mundane so that we can be PRESENT at the moment to LISTEN.
Prayer and Meditation can help us to STOP and LISTEN. In the next Sundays that are coming, we will reflect on Prayers and Meditations that will help us to develop a more listening heart. Today, my dear friends, our prayer is that like the man in the gospel, may Jesus open our ears, our eyes, our hearts.
Listening is such a laborious task. It is easier to HEAR than to LISTEN. In listening, you put your heart at work. You do not listen with your ears but with your heart. You need patience when you listen, something that a lot of us are lacking as well. In this age of "everything INSTANT," being patient is seemingly a waste of time. We want everything INSTANT. And sadly enough, even in our communication, we want everything INSTANT, therefore, we fail to really LISTEN. We fail to pay attention. We fail to focus. Hence, we fail to truly communicate. Most of the time, we simply pass on a message, nothing more.
My dear brothers and sisters, today and everyday, Jesus is asking us to LISTEN not only to His words in the Bible but also to LISTEN to His words in others. Jesus speaks to us through creation around us - through the trees, the plants, the flowers, the animals, the rivers .... He speaks to us through the natural events that happen around us. Do we listen??? Jesus speaks to us through the needs of our brothers and sisters - the poor, the sick, the dying, the homeless, the destitute, the lonely, the lost. Do we listen??? What hinders us to listen is our inability to STOP for a while ... this world has made us so busy with so many things, unfortunately some are unnecessary, that we forget to STOP momentarily from the mundane so that we can be PRESENT at the moment to LISTEN.
Prayer and Meditation can help us to STOP and LISTEN. In the next Sundays that are coming, we will reflect on Prayers and Meditations that will help us to develop a more listening heart. Today, my dear friends, our prayer is that like the man in the gospel, may Jesus open our ears, our eyes, our hearts.
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