Throughout the year, we present an article in the bulletin each week on a variety of topics, written by a member of our Parish staff or ministries on a rotating basis.

Growing In Faith

by Ruth Pera, Faith Formation Coordinator

Do you know that Pope Francis recently wrote a letter about the essential nature of studying literature, poetry, and art? It began as a letter emphasizing the importance of those disciplines to the formation of future priests, but as he wrote, it broadened in scope to encourage all members of the faithful to spend time with those classic disciplines – whether you’re reflecting on classics or not.

What he says about why this is important, though, might surprise you! Pope Francis says:

“When I think of literature, I am reminded of what the great Argentinean writer Jorge Luis Borges…used to tell his students, namely that the most important thing is simply to read, to enter into direct contact with literature, to immerse oneself in the living text in front of us, rather than to fixate on ideas and critical comments. Borges explained this idea to his students by saying that at first they may understand very little of what they are reading, but in any case they are hearing “another person’s voice”. This is a definition of literature that I like very much: listening to another person’s voice. We must never forget how dangerous it is to stop listening to the voice of other people when they challenge us! We immediately fall into self-isolation; we enter into a kind of “spiritual deafness”, which has a negative effect on our relationship with ourselves and our relationship with God, no matter how much theology or psychology we may have studied.” ¹ (emphasis added)

In other words – study of literature matters because it makes us better listeners, and the ability to listen well to one another is central to the ability to build relationships, to empathize, and to connect – with others, and with God. Right now, there’s a lot of incentive to talk in our society and almost endless ways to make your voice heard. But if we’re all talking, what’s happening to our listening skills? Are they still serving us well in our relationships with family members, colleagues, friends, peers? Are they serving us when we seek out God?

On November 3, parishioner Mary Lisa Penilla will be bringing skills learned in narrative medicine to lead a Listening Workshop. (You can find the flyer and more details for the event within this bulletin.)  Like Pope Francis, leaders in this field have found that literature and art can be effective tools for teaching medical professionals to listen to their patients. It begs the question: can we use these same tools to improve our ability to listen to one another? Can we use them to listen better to God?

I wrote in a previous article about parishioners who have come to me seeking opportunities to connect with other adults for conversations in fellowship, faith, and prayer – and I am really glad that we have seen some growth in those endeavors! For anyone interested in those kind of opportunities – I encourage you to consider this Listening Workshop. It’s through prayerful listening to one another that we can come together to create safe spaces where fruitful, complex, life-giving conversations can happen; conversations that draw us closer to God and to one another.

¹ Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis on the Role of Literature in Formation