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A
monthly letter from the Glenmary Vocation Office |
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July 2007
Listening to Where the Spirit Is Leading
For 12 days in June the entire Glenmary community searched for the Spirit during our 14th General Chapter. The overarching questions we asked ourselves were: “What is God’s will for Glenmary in the next four years?” “What is God asking of Glenmary?”
In order to hear the Holy Spirit we needed to listen. We listened to God through participating in the sacraments, reading and listening to scripture and through the Holy Mass. And, we also listened to each other. We sat in small circles and allowed each person to speak to a certain question without interruption and with trust that nothing said would leave the circle. This was sacred listening.
One of the questions presented by the facilitator to the individuals in the group was: Where is your passion? Listening to the responses of the participants encouraged us to suspend judgment and to really listen to where we were all coming from. It was only after really hearing each other that we could begin discussing our hopes and dreams for Glenmary over the next four years. We could then decide what actions would be practical to implement those hopes and dreams and how we need to go about prioritizing to ensure those actions take place. Reverent listening and respect for one another was essential for our discernment.
What was the result of our discernment? Did Glenmary create new and innovative plans? Did Glenmary shift its work in a whole new direction? Did Glenmary make strong political or faith-filled statements? The answer to these questions is no. The result of this time, however, was that Glenmary became more unified. We became a stronger community, renewed in our commitment to mission. I believe most Glenmarians came away re-energized for the mission ahead. Although essential decisions were reached at Chapter, I think the results that I mentioned above may be far more important than any specific actions.
Through those 12 days, I grew spiritually too. Going into Chapter, I certainly had some strong passions. There were several ideas I was hoping would be embraced during our time together and I was a bit anxious. But, I found that the more I listened and the more I trusted in God and in the goodness of my brother Glenmarians, students and co-workers, the greater peace I discovered and the less anxious I became. It was when I became less focused on my dreams and hopes and more focused on listening to where and how the Spirit is leading Glenmary to better serve the U.S. home missions that I felt the Spirit’s presence even more deeply.
Maybe Chapter gave us a chance to gain insight into our individual searches for the Holy Spirit in our lives. Maybe we all as Catholic Christians need to engage in these two types of deep listening before taking action in our lives: Listen to the voice of God by being quiet, through participating in the sacraments, reading scripture and by attending Mass. And listen to the voices of trusted friends—perhaps a prayer group, intentional discernment group or friends who really know us—to talk and really listen to each other's story and thoughts.
In our personal discernment perhaps we need to worry less about our dreams and hopes and instead focus more on discerning what God’s plan is for his people and even more important, discover our part in that plan.
In that discovery, we will find our search for the Spirit fulfilled.
