Advent Wreath Candle Blessing 2019: 2nd Sunday
December 7, 2019: Eve of the Second Sunday of Advent
Tonight we light the candle of a Listening Heart. Think of the Prologue of Benedict’s Rule. To turn the ear of our hearts to a loving Father who speaks to us at every moment. His voice is spoken in the person of another who comes into our lives, who asks us to listen to God in their need, their pain, their joy. His voice is heard in all that binds us together in community, locally and universally in the myriad ways we serve one another. Each one, our sister and brother. Each one, like ourselves, beloved of God. To lay aside our self-absorption and as Benedict counsels us, by the labor of obedience to God’s self-communication in another, to return to him whom we had departed by the sloth of disobedience. As with a Quiet Heart, a Listening Heart enters into relationship with a loving Father speaking through a brother or sister. A Listening Heart is attentive, gentle, responsive to others in faith and love. By the light of the candle of a Listening Heart, may we lay aside selfish concerns and let the ear of our hearts pick up the voice of God speaking to us in another.