In prayer, ask God to incline the yearnings of your heart to Himself - Daily Reflections December 14,2014

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