Each year when I prepare for my Lenten journey I spend time as most of us do, examining how to deepen my faith with the 3 practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. I have to admit that I struggle most with the practice of fasting, at least with fasting in some meaningful way.
I was praying with one of my favorite scriptures, Luke’s account of the Annunciation (Luke 1: 26-38) and meditating on the appearance of the Angel Gabriel to Mary. In my mind I heard the words: “Listening is fasting”.
It dawned on me that our blessed Mother was guiding me toward a new way of fasting, a way that I was most in need of. She was guiding me to listening more and speaking less – fasting from the spoken word!
In sacred scripture, the spoken words of our blessed Mother Mary are less than 200 words. Yet her brief spoken words have inspired innumerable prayers, hymns, sermons and other devotional practices.
We are told that Mary “pondered in her heart”. The word ‘ponder,’ comes from the Latin root ‘ponderare,’ which means ‘weight,’ as in weighing something in the mind. It is to think or consider quietly, soberly, and deeply.
Mary’s words carry such weight and hidden truth because she listened before she spoke. The fruit of her listening and pondering are all the qualities we hope to emulate: humility, obedience, love, and trust in God.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church also highlights listening as essential to faith:
“To obey (from the Latin ‘ob-audire,’ to ‘hear or listen to’) in faith is to submit freely to the word that has been heard” (CCC no. 144).
This means that listening is essential to our ability to receive and respond to God’s Word, God’s self-gift to us in love. Our listening in this sense is an inner disposition of spirit, a hospitality we extend to God, a way of welcome to be in relationship with God. Because it is a way for us to enter into relationship with God, God desires our listening. Along these lines, we are invited at the Transfiguration:
“This is my beloved Son, listen to him” (see Matthew 17:5, Mark 9:7, Luke 9:35).
What does listening to God require? Saint John of the Cross tells us: “Silence is God’s first language.” Maybe then if listening is fasting, it requires giving up some of the noise in our ears – podcasts, music, news, etc. – the noise that competes with God’s voice. It’s this same noise that can prevent us from listening to those around us who need our attention, compassion, and presence.
How do we weigh our spoken words as our Blessed Mother did? This may be an even bigger struggle for some of us. I remember my mother telling me that, as a child, I never let my older brother get a word in edgewise. (She reminded me of this when she saw me exasperated with my own chatty child!)
I believe the best test for the spoken word is:
• Are my words spoken in love?
• Am I speaking the truth?
• Are these words necessary?
I don’t usually struggle with the first two, but I often struggle with the last. When I speak words that are not necessary or called for in the situation, I am often coming from a place of pride or selfishness.
As we incorporate our Lenten practices into year-round spiritual growth, may we hear our Blessed Mother’s gentle prompt:
In what relationship in my life do I need to listen more and speak less?
Debbie Garza is a parishioner of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Leon Springs, and is an experienced Pilgrimage Group Leader with Pilgrim Center of Hope. She has traveled with Pilgrim Center of Hope to the Holy Land, Italy, and Greece. She says, “On pilgrimage, I know the ears and eyes of my heart have been opened by God’s grace and I’ve experienced the Joy of the Gospel. I am committed to helping other pilgrims experience their personal journey of faith.” Debra is also a member of Pilgrim Center of Hope’s Speaker Team.
Pilgrim Center of Hope provides events, experiences, and media; initiating a desire in people to encounter Jesus Christ in their daily journey of life. See what’s happening & let us journey with you! Visit PilgrimCenterOfHope.org.
