The theme for Pastoral Care Week 2008, held Oct. 19 to 25, was “Listening Presence: Hear the Story.” While it seems like such a simple thing, to listen to someone, it is actually a radically transformative action. When we take the time to truly attend to a person’s words, we encounter the sacred story within them; we can meet the living Christ who dwells in all.

As Catholics we frequently hear the phrase describing all humans as ‘made in the image and likeness of God’ yet do we genuinely meet and greet others as if we believed that?

During Pastoral Care Week, special emphasis is being placed upon the sacred act of holy listening. The kind of listening that in its respectful attention to the ‘other’ sends the message that ‘you are valuable, your story is vital to the whole tapestry of humanity, and your journey has something to teach all of us.’ Imbued within that simple act of listening is the communication of the inherent value, dignity and worth of the speaker. Jesus came to show us that we are all cherished by God the Father, created out of his unconditional love for us, and redeemed, one and all, by the suffering, Death and Resurrection of the Son of God. If we believe that to be true, it cannot help but impact our pastoral and our personal relationships.

Particularly in the ministry of Pastoral Care, the gift of holy listening is shared with the sick and dying by those sent by the Church as pastoral visitors, as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, as deacon, and as priest.

To listen to one who is ill is to validate their communion with the local Church and their importance to it. When one is ill both the fears and losses one experiences can be overwhelming, until shared with a caring other.

Rachel Naomi Remen wrote, “...the opening of the heart seems to go far beyond love to an experience of belonging which heals our most profound wounds ...in our suffering and our joy we are connec:ted to one another with unbreakable and compelling human bonds ...and all of us become less vulnerable and alone.”

Not only does the act of listening with one who is suffering transform their loneliness into a sense of belonging, it transforms the listener as well. Cardinal Joseph Bernardin wrote, “Pastoral Ministry modeled on that of the Good Shepherd ...is profound because the encounter transcends both the minister and the flock and brings both into deeper contact with God.” So it is the great blessing of the person who cares for the sick that they meet their Lord in each encounter with the persons they visit.

Deanna Sass is director of the Office of Pastoral Care for the diocese.