1 Comment

  1. Victoria Walters
    April 17, 2017 @ 11:54 PM

    OK – I’m playing catch up, again.

    The line in your second paragraph, “…many of them were ‘too busy’ to listen with their heart,” cut me like a knife. (Ouch – but THANK YOU!) It made me wonder how often I am listening to God’s Word with only a superficial ear: catching what’s being said on the surface, but failing to take the time needed to listen deeply, with my heart, to grasp the nuances hidden FOR me, if only I will dig deep to find them. I am absolutely positive I do that much more often than I should. (Uh…is there ever a time that I should??)

    As I write this, it’s the day after Easter 2017 (4/17.) On Saturday evening (4/15) into the wee morning hours of Resurrection Day, we observed our annual Easter Vigil, during which 70+ people in our parish confirmed their commitment to follow Jesus Christ. As the leader of the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) process in our church, it was my privilege to be part of the journey to faith of some of them (the English speakers) for the nine months of classes required to become part of the Roman Catholic Church. (I mention this as background for what I’m about to say…)

    On April 8th, those in my class joined those from a nearby parish for a Day of Reflection on what it means to be Rooted in the Spirit. The retreat was led by the Director of Faith Formation from my parish. She equated our spiritual growth to that of a tree. One of the things she pointed out is that when we look at a well established tree, what we see above ground is only 1/4 of the tree! The root system below ground is three times the size of the trunk and branches. If it weren’t, the tree would not be able to withstand the onslaught of storms. Trees that topple do so because their roots have decayed.

    I think the applicable lesson in that ties well into your mention of listening with one’s heart. We can only be rooted in the Spirit to the degree that we develop our root system in God’s Word. As I said, there are times -maybe more times than not- that my listening is simply with a superficial ear. Even as I go about what I’m doing “prayerfully” if God wants to change my focus, He has to get my attention off of what I’m “doing by rote” and fix it upon what He wants to reveal through my task-at-hand. I know from experience that sometimes His “getting my attention” isn’t always pleasant. So, it would be in my best interest to, at all times, listen with my heart.

    Whew, I think I have some repenting to do!