Daily Reflections

December 4, 2011
CARDIAC LISTENING

A priest was greeting the people at the entrance of the Church after Mass when a child grabbed his hand and handed him money. Surprised, the priest asked the child, “What is this for, my child?” The child responded, “I thought you could use the money. After your homily, my mother whispered to me that you are the poorest preacher this parish has ever had.”
I know this story is a joke but stories like this do contain a great kernel of truth in it. At a priest conference I once attended, one speaker spoke of the need for us priests to improve our homilies to offset what he termed a “crisis in preaching.” I could only nod in agreement.
Our readings today do not speak of a crisis in preaching. In fact, both first reading and the Gospel of Mark remind us of a “voice crying out in the desert,” calling us to prepare for the coming of the Messiah. Why in the desert? John the Baptist lived in the desert but he did not remain there. It would be foolish of him to preach in the desert where no one will hear him. So why in the desert? I believethis is Isaiah’s metaphor for a sermon that no one hears, for a preacher without a congregation.
If we can speak of a crisis in preaching, can we also speak of a crisis in listening? I do not speak here of a collective hearing disability. I’m not talking about an aural listening, i.e, listening with one’s ears. I’m speaking of a cardiac listening, i.e., listening with one’s heart (from the Greek kardia, meaning heart).
What do you hear right now as December 25 approaches? The sound of carols, new gadgets, get-togethers, eating binges, cash registers? What excites your heart?
Christmas beckons. As that day approaches, I think of that familiar carol, Do You Hear What I Hear? What is the song reminding us to hear? It beckons us to listen with our heart to “the child, the child, sleeping in the night, He will bring us goodness and light. He will bring us goodness and light!” This Christmas, let us not forget to leave space in our heart for the Child who will bring us goodness and light. Fr. Joel O. Jason

Reflection Question:
Ask God to let you experience a Divine “cardiac arrest” — that only the godly may arrest the yearnings of your heart.

Amidst the many attractions of the Christmas season, attract my heart, O God. Amen.

St. Osmund, pray for us.