To love another is to see the face of God
– Victor Hugo Les Miserables
While praying Liturgy of the Hours this morning one of the responses is, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.” Of late I’m pondering this, mulling it over, letting it sink to the roots of my being. So much of my life I’ve read two-thirds of this.
In the beginning was the Word.
A human is a subject, a mystery, to be known and loved
A human is not an object to be used, violated, tossed in the dung heap of life
Getting to know a person takes time and practice. Even the ones closest to me can remain unknown when the door is closed, heavily guarded, locked and the key is missing.
Listening is a skill in need of honing, improving, developing. There is a need on my part to hone this skill even more. In part for those who come for spiritual direction and in part for those who come as quilting students. In part for the one with whom I abide. In that one there is so much to say and absolutely no need to say it.
While attending an event recently a friend in spiritual direction formation asked me to assist with and exercise. SarahBeth (not her real name) listened while I talked about how my prayer life has shifted in the last several months. This process started while going through the formation process myself. This was, as it’s been before, a bit unsettling. I do love to take pen to paper and write. Journaling is a delightful exercise in prayer through both the time it takes and for the remembering all the people who have asked me to pray for them and for their situations. It’s also a way of thinking about the things that I enjoy thinking about. journaling is also a physical act, engaging my mind, heart and body. There is a bit of a sense of loss in the shift, yet entering into the Liturgical Prayer of the Church is a gift that is new every day The cycle of the Psalms, prayers, and readings guide the day in a sweet rhythm.
After sharing some of this with my friend we talked about her experience and what she found surprising. Listening without the intention of responding to another offers the other rare opportunity to be truly heard, received, cherished. My friend shared the difficulty in the moment. I concur, it’s hard to simply listen to the other. It takes practice. Praying the Liturgy of the Hours is an opportunity to practice listening….
listening to the author expressing their heart in poetry
listening to the author offer insight
listening to how God is moving in the lives & hearts of the people
listening to and for what God desires for me to know
It was a delight to have this moment with my friend, to help with this part of the formation process. To be heard.
Here we are in November, I suspect that the next word of the year will come soon. Sometime in the next few weeks I’ll share a little more on how Surrender and I have accompanied one another this year. The clearest way happened recently.
God bless you!
Teri
A Quilter's Heart 