LISTENING AND OBEYING

From the Desert Fathers:

“Some brothers… went to see Abba Felix and they begged him to a say a word to them. After they had asked for a long time he said to them, “You wish to hear a word?” They said, “Yes, Abba.” Then the old man said to them, “There are no more words nowadays. When the brothers used to consult the old men and when they did what was said to them, God showed them how to speak. But now, since they ask without doing that which they hear, God has withdrawn the grace of the word from the old men and do not find anything to say, since there are no longer any who carry their words out.” Hearing this, the brothers groaned, saying, “Pray for us, Abba.”

(Desert Fathers and Mothers were ascetics who lived in the Egyptian Desert starting around the third century)

Obedience comes from a Latin word which means ‘to listen.’

“Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” Jesus