Being listened to

It may be hard for you to believe that God is calling you personally and is waiting for you to love him. Your life matters to him. In calling you, God does not dictate what you have to do. His call is first and foremost a personal encounter. Let Christ welcome you, and you will discover what road to take. God calls you to freedom. He does not turn you into someone who is passive. By his Holy Spirit God dwells within you, yet does not take your place. On the contrary, God awakens unsuspected energies. ... Accept that in you there are unfulfilled longings and even unresolved questions. Entrust yourself in transparency of heart. In the Church there are men and women able to listen to you. Being listened to over time in this way will enable you to discern how to give yourself fully. Brother Alois Taizé (original here)

Listening is a major part of my ministry and discernment part of my gifting. There is something immensely holy, sitting or standing and listening to another. INFJ's constitute a very low proportion of the population something like 0.5 % of males and 1% of females yet this is the group from which counsellors, psychotherapists and spiritual directors are drawn. Of course not all INFJ are good listeners, just they have the potential. But I am surprised how many INFJs and ENFJs there are in my world to whom I listen. Perhaps they are gifts for the moment.

When I listen what do I listen for? Listening is an active passivity because there is a level of discernment. Listening for the activity of God; looking for a movement of the spirit of God; trying to intuit a deep unfulfilled longing coming to the surface; and discerning whether it is God awakening unsuspected energies.

The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less. John 3:29-30