THE EAR OF THE HEART
Dolores Hart was a talented and beautiful young woman when she made her film debut opposite Elvis Presley in a 1957 film called Loving You. She
had several other movies after that successful film. In 1963, she
surprised Hollywood by answering the call of Holy Vows. She entered a
monastery and became a nun. Now, Dolores Hart is simply known as Mother
Dolores.
She wrote an autobiography detailing her transition from Hollywood to
the religious life. In it, she says that God’s call can only be
perceived through “the ear of the heart,” the title she used for the
book.
The Ear of the Heart. That’s
a clever title for a book. That is also a good advent slogan. Listening
and loving are inseparable. Notice that right in the middle of the word
heart is the word ear. John the Baptist cries out in the desert, “I am a
voice in the desert crying out: Make straight the way of the Lord!” Our
advent task is not only to hear. Our advent task is to love He who is
to come.
What do you hear right now as December 25 approaches? The sound of
carols, new gadgets, get-togethers, eating binges, cash registers? What
makes you excited in your heart?
Christmas beckons. And as that day approaches, I think of that familiar
carol, “Do You Hear What I Hear?” What is that 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!” Fr. Joel Jason
REFLECTION QUESTION: In prayer, ask God to incline the yearnings of your heart to Himself.
Amidst the many attractions of the Christmas season, attract my heart, O God. Amen
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