Contemplative Listening: The Foundation of Spiritual Friendship & Direction

Course Description

Scripture resounds with God’s call to hear—Shema. It is only appropriate, then, that the discipline and gift of listening is foundational to Christian life and love of God and neighbour. Listening creates a sanctuary within which we are invited to receive God’s Word and welcome the neighbour. By listening, we are shaped as Christ’s disciples.

Yet how do we orient toward God’s voice and toward other people in a culture that is so loud in its constant efforts to drive, seduce, engage, divide, and distract us? How do we quiet external and internal noise in order to hear? Contemplative spiritual disciplines and practical listening skills can help us listen to God, to the hearts of others, and even to our own souls. This course will offer some basic theory and introduce students to the prayerful practices of contemplative listening that lie at the core of the ministry of spiritual direction and relationships of spiritual friendship.