Remember to check Pope Francis’ Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on this link at the Vatican site. Chapter Nine continues with the theme of listening and accompaniment. Can we discern another person’s motivations? It can be difficult.
294. The third kind of sensitivity is the ability to perceive what is driving the other person. This calls for a deeper kind of listening, one able to discern the direction in which that person truly wants to move. Apart from what they are feeling or thinking right now, and whatever has happened up to this point in their lives, the real issue is what they would like to be. This may demand that they look not to their own superficial wishes and desires, but rather to what is most pleasing to the Lord, to his plans for their life. And that is seen in a deeper inclination of the heart, beyond the surface level of their likes and feelings. This kind of listening seeks to discern their ultimate intention, the intention that definitively decides the meaning of their life. Jesus knows and appreciates this ultimate intention of the heart. He is always there, ready to help each of us to recognize it. We need but say to him: “Lord, save me! Have mercy on me!”
This strikes me as advanced spiritual direction. Those who can do this with young people are indeed gifted and a gift to the Church. Any comments?
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Catholic Sensibility 