Dear Friend,

Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

Luke 7:24-30  

Reflection by Rev. Msgr. Joseph Reilly

This past Sunday my head got really swelled up with pride. Just after Mass, a parishioner came up and could not wait to speak with me. “Father, I really loved your homily,” she said. My face was beaming and my heart so very proud – thinking to myself, “You’re wonderful, Reilly, really you are!”  It lasted about two seconds, as she followed her compliment with the words, “I could actually hear you!”  What has lingered has been my crestfallen spirit. It was not so much what I said, but that she could hear me. Hearing is not the same as listening.  Very true indeed. 

Today’s gospel passage concludes with a stark realization: “All the people who listened … acknowledged the righteousness of God, but the Pharisees and scholars of the law … rejected the plan of God for themselves.”  There were two groups – those who took John’s message of repentance to heart and those who refused to do so. Two very different reactions.  Two very distinct courses of action – repentance or resentment of God’s prerogative. What made all the difference was the capacity to listen, to open the ears of one’s heart and genuinely listen.

Listening isn’t always as simple as it may appear at first.  So many of us have the tendency to talk over others or allow the outside noises to drown out what someone else or God is trying to say to us. Or we can be like the Pharisees and scholars of the law, who decided before a single word was uttered that whatever was said by whomever would exert no influence over them nor would it impact their way of life at all. In each of these instances, to whatever degree, we have closed off the possibility of encounter – with others or with the living God. It’s a partial or a complete shutdown – to growth, to conversion, and to the life-giving power of encounter. 

If I am open to encounter, I am open to change. If I am truly listening, I can perceive the Lord’s voice, even in the tiniest of whispers, however soothing or unsettling it may be. If the ears of my heart are receptive, God’s vision for my life will become what is determinative and directive, not my own plans and schemes. These days of Advent are a kind of annual “tutorial” on the power and place of encounter in the life of every Christian, of the primary place of God’s plan in my life.  We all could use this “refresher.”  There is nothing better for a crestfallen spirit than an encounter with the Living God. I can attest to this from experience!

Jesus is always open to encounter with you and me. Today’s image is of the Seminary chapel from the outside garden, taken at night-time. The illuminated stained-glass windows above the door display images related to the Eucharist with Jesus the Good Shepherd at the heart and center. Just below, on the porch, there are two empty chairs – waiting to be put to use for an encounter between two people of faith, with Jesus Christ at the heart and center! 

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, please help me to make use of these Advent days. Help me to open the ears of my heart that I may truly listen for you and to you. Help me to rediscover the life-giving and life-changing power of encounter with you. Your Presence brings life, hope and peace to our spirit. Amen.

Know someone who may be interested in receiving our daily reflection emails? Invite them to sign up by visiting our subscription page.

Rev. Msgr. Joseph Reilly, S.T.L., Ph.D., former Rector/Dean, Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology. He holds a Bachelor of Sacred Theology from Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome, a licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) from Pontificio Istituto Teresianum, Rome, and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Fordham University. He has served as a member of the Archdiocesan Priest Personnel Board, the Advisory Committee on Continuing Education and Ongoing Formation of Priests, the Archdiocesan Vocations Board, and the Board of Trustees of Seton Hall University. Pope John Paul II named him a Chaplain to His Holiness in 2005, with the title of Reverend Monsignor. In 2016 during the Holy Year of Mercy, the Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization sought priests who were living signs "of the Father's welcome to all those in search of His forgiveness." He was the only priest from the Archdiocese of Newark formally commissioned as a Missionary of Mercy by Pope Francis.