At mass on Sunday, Father Adrian asked us to reflect on our vocation and how are we living it out? He asked us to take the Transfiguration story and to make it our own in a different way that we usually reflect on this key event in the life of Christ. Father Adrian preached that the point where God speaks over Peter's words in the story is the point where Peter actually realises what his vocation was, and that is primarily to listen to the Beloved Son of God.
For us, it is the same, we are called to listen to the Father, and then to listen, and to follow Jesus. This is vocation pared down to the bare bones. Ironically, I was listening to the radio on Friday and they were talking about active listening being a lost art and much-needed one in order to build harmony within relationships, families, and in any social situation, including negotiating with insurgents.
According to the expert, we tend to focus too much on offering solutions and giving our own opinions that more often than not we are not offering the person what he or she really needs, and that is the space to be truly heard, and thus, to be validated and affirmed.
Conflict can hardly be resolved if we merely hear, but do not listen. True empathy requires a listening heart that is able to capture the essence of what is being communicated (clarification is sought by paraphrasing frequently the message back to the speaker) and then to do what is requested, which may be to do nothing at all. Active listening requires us to act in the way that is perceived as what was requested and most helpful to the other party.
Likewise, to listen to God, we need to create the necessary silence through stillness to be able to hear what God is saying. As I sat quietly in the adoration room last Saturday, I had actually asked Jesus a question on vocation, where was I to go next, what should I do to spread the Good News?
Since marriage, I feel as if my world has
shrunk for I have been ruthlessly cutting the threads of my past that have no place in my current life. I have curtailed numerous activities, placing my marriage as my main priority. Thus voids have formed, dark, mysterious holes that are waiting to be filled in my new life.
While I am impatient to swing into action and accomplish many things, I am cognizant of the fact that I need to master the basics before I take on the more complicated. I need to just 'be' in my new environment, giving myself the time to enjoy the novel space and role I have undertaken. The best thing I can possibly do for now is to be an active listener.
What I also got from my quiet time last Saturday is to allow Jesus to continue to be the loving Bridegroom so that I can be the loving Bride to P and my new family. Some of the empty spaces within my heart must remain liminal spaces for now. It's okay to remain dormant and quiescent, as long as I strive to catch, and savour God's intimate whispers to me.
When I reflect on the graces I have received in these recent months, I am awed at the Father's generosity for so much has already been given to me. Even amidst my struggles I recognize that He honours my efforts and applauds my achievements, even the most insignificant ones. And He keeps fulfilling the desires of my heart. So instead of being too hasty in acting and relying on my human intellect to tell me how to act, it is best to listen with an open and obedient heart to Jesus to know what I should be doing in my life. As Peter found his vocation in keeping quiet and still, I will continue to find mine in adopting the same humble posture.
For us, it is the same, we are called to listen to the Father, and then to listen, and to follow Jesus. This is vocation pared down to the bare bones. Ironically, I was listening to the radio on Friday and they were talking about active listening being a lost art and much-needed one in order to build harmony within relationships, families, and in any social situation, including negotiating with insurgents.
According to the expert, we tend to focus too much on offering solutions and giving our own opinions that more often than not we are not offering the person what he or she really needs, and that is the space to be truly heard, and thus, to be validated and affirmed.
Conflict can hardly be resolved if we merely hear, but do not listen. True empathy requires a listening heart that is able to capture the essence of what is being communicated (clarification is sought by paraphrasing frequently the message back to the speaker) and then to do what is requested, which may be to do nothing at all. Active listening requires us to act in the way that is perceived as what was requested and most helpful to the other party.
Likewise, to listen to God, we need to create the necessary silence through stillness to be able to hear what God is saying. As I sat quietly in the adoration room last Saturday, I had actually asked Jesus a question on vocation, where was I to go next, what should I do to spread the Good News?
Since marriage, I feel as if my world has
While I am impatient to swing into action and accomplish many things, I am cognizant of the fact that I need to master the basics before I take on the more complicated. I need to just 'be' in my new environment, giving myself the time to enjoy the novel space and role I have undertaken. The best thing I can possibly do for now is to be an active listener.
What I also got from my quiet time last Saturday is to allow Jesus to continue to be the loving Bridegroom so that I can be the loving Bride to P and my new family. Some of the empty spaces within my heart must remain liminal spaces for now. It's okay to remain dormant and quiescent, as long as I strive to catch, and savour God's intimate whispers to me.
When I reflect on the graces I have received in these recent months, I am awed at the Father's generosity for so much has already been given to me. Even amidst my struggles I recognize that He honours my efforts and applauds my achievements, even the most insignificant ones. And He keeps fulfilling the desires of my heart. So instead of being too hasty in acting and relying on my human intellect to tell me how to act, it is best to listen with an open and obedient heart to Jesus to know what I should be doing in my life. As Peter found his vocation in keeping quiet and still, I will continue to find mine in adopting the same humble posture.
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