2023 Season of Creation – “Cultivate a Listening Heart”
September 29th, 2023
By Maurice Lange, current Justice & Peace Director at Presentation Sisters & former Executive Director of the Oblates Lebh Shomea House of Prayer
“We are speaking of an attitude of the heart, one which approaches life with serene attentiveness, which is capable of being fully present to someone without thinking of what comes next.”
(Laudato Si #226)
READ: 7th part of Pope Francis’ letter for the 2023 Season of Creation (on page 2)
REFLECTION: Have you heard of the term “lebh shomea”? In Hebrew lebh shomea means “listening heart”. In synodality Pope Francis calls the Church and all people to a process of heartful listening—lest we fail our mission and our humanity. We have failed to hear the cries of Earth and people made poor, and it’s no coincidence that the next step of the synodal process begins on the feast of St. Francis. Let us immerse ourselves in the river of listening so that we become “a Church increasingly capable of making prophetic decisions that are the fruit of the Spirit’s guidance.”*
ACTION: What are you listening to? As we are bombarded each day with messages surely not from the Spirit, what filters can you creatively construct, so as to limit exposure to junk that comes your way? That way we make space within our hearts to listen deeply to each other. We can become the synodal Church that Francis is leading us toward: one that sows justice and peace, one that gives life to all.
Reflections in this series:
- Preparing for the 2023 Season of Creation – “Let Justice and Peace Flow”
- 2023 Season of Creation – “Let’s Irrigate Life!”
- 2023 Season of Creation – “Transforming Our Hearts”
- 2023 Season of Creation – “Transforming Our Lifestyles”
- 2023 Season of Creation – “Transforming Public Policy”
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