One in Christ / Daniel Conway

Combine service and listening to open yourself to God

(En Espanol)
 

In a homily given on July 20, Pope Leo XIV offered some reflections on “God’s way of acting.”

In the Gospel reading for the Mass (Lk 10:38-42), Jesus appears as a guest at the house of Martha and Mary. “One of the sisters welcomes him by serving him, while the other sits at his feet, listening as a disciple would her teacher,” Pope Leo says.

The first sister, Martha, complains that she would like some help with the serving. Jesus responds by inviting her to recognize the value of listening. In fact, he tells her that her sister, Mary, has chosen the better part.

But the Holy Father says, “It would be incorrect, however, to see these two attitudes as mutually exclusive, or to compare the merits of the two women. Service and listening are, in fact, twin dimensions of hospitality.”

Both are necessary in our relationships with God and with each other.

“Our relationship with God comes first,” the pope says. “Although it is true that we must live out our faith through concrete actions, faithfully carrying out our duties according to our state of life and vocation, it is essential that we do so only after meditating on the word of God and listening to what the Holy Spirit is saying to our hearts.” Friendship with God and with each other requires more than shared activity. It also requires mutual understanding, compassion and unity in mind and heart.

“To this end,” Pope Leo says, “we should set aside moments of silence, moments of prayer, times in which, quieting noise and distractions, we recollect ourselves before God in simplicity of heart. This is a dimension of the Christian life that we particularly need to recover today, both as a value for individuals and communities, and as a prophetic sign for our times.”

The noisy, distracted world that we live in makes it difficult to be thoughtful, quiet and attentive to the needs of others. “We must make room for silence, for listening to the Father who speaks and sees in secret,” the pope observes (Mt 6:6).

He adds, “Let us make summer an opportunity to care for others, to get to know each other and to offer advice and a listening ear, for these are expressions of love, and that is something we all need. Let us do so with courage. In this way, through solidarity, in the sharing of faith and life, we will help to promote a culture of peace, helping those around us to overcome divisions and hostility and to build communion between individuals, peoples and religions.”

Pope Leo is keenly aware that what he is recommending—a balanced, integrated approach to both listening and serving—requires hard work. But, he says, “it is precisely by making an effort that something worthwhile can be built in life; it is the only way to form and nurture strong and genuine relationships between people.”

Quoting St. Augustine, Pope Leo says: “These two women symbolize two lives: the present and the future; a life lived in toil and a life of rest; one troubled and the other blessed; one temporary, the other eternal” (Sermon 104, 4).

And considering Martha’s work, Augustine said: “Who is exempt from the duty of caring for others? Who can rest from these tasks? Let us try to carry them out with charity and in such a way that none will be able to find fault with us … .”

Mary and Martha “remind us that listening and service are two complementary attitudes that enable us to open ourselves and our lives to the blessings of the Lord,” the Holy Father says. “Their example invites us to reconcile contemplation and action, rest and hard work, silence and the bustle of our daily lives with wisdom and balance, always taking Jesus’ charity as our measure, his word as our light, and his grace as our source of strength, which sustains us beyond our own capacity [Phil 4:13].”

Pope Leo’s summer vacation at Castel Gandolfo is a visible reminder of his desire to find balance in his ministry between nonstop business and the contemplative life that must seem more attractive to him every day.

All of us, including Pope Leo, must make room for silence, for listening to the Father who speaks and sees in secret, but in the end, each of us must do this in his or her own way.
 

(Daniel Conway is a member of The Criterion’s editorial committee.) †