“LISTENING is always involved in hospitality. The most gracious attempts we can muster are meaningless if we do not actually hear the stranger. Listening is the core meaning of hospitality. It is something we can give anyone and everyone, including ourselves. It takes only a few minutes to really listen…
Hospitality is a way to counter the thousands of times another human being has felt less than human because others didn’t listen. Listening is the power of hospitality; it is what makes hospitality the life-giving thing it is."
- Daniel Homan and Lonni Collins Pratt, Radical Hospitality: Benedict’s Way of Love
This is one thing that I was particularly struck by when preparing the recent service. By listening to people, we are welcoming them. Welcoming their thoughts, valuing their opinions, providing them with a safe place to speak. Our attentiveness is a welcome of its own.
For a fuller quote see here.
2 comments:
This is so very true. Listening to others and remaining silent yourself is a powerful way to communicate.
Really being able to listen to someone and not interrupting them is a rare skill these days. We are all educated to engage and debate and so we often forget to listen to people properly.
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