![]() We should listen with the ears of God that we may speak the Word of God.” But Christians have forgotten that the ministry of listening has been committed to them by Him who is Himself the great listener and whose work they should share. Secular education today is aware that often a person can be helped merely by having someone who will listen to him seriously, and upon this insight it has constructed its own soul therapy, which has attracted great numbers of people, including Christians. It is little wonder that we are no longer capable of the greatest service of listening that God has committed to us, that of hearing our brother's confession, if we refuse to give ear to our brother on lesser subjects. This is no fulfillment of our obligation, and it is certain that here too our attitude toward our brother only reflects our relationship to God. ![]() ![]() It is an impatient, inattentive listening, that despises the brother and is only waiting for a chance to speak and thus get rid of the other person. “There is a kind of listening with half an ear that presumes already to know what the other person has to say. ![]() Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community The brother views me as I am before the judging and merciful God in the Cross of Jesus Christ.” The psychiatrist views me as if there were no God. The Christian brother knows when I come to him: here is a sinner like myself, a godless man who wants to confess and yearns for God’s forgiveness. The psychiatrist must first search my heart and yet he never plumbs its ultimate depth. In the presence of a psychiatrist I can only be a sick man in the presence of a Christian brother I can dare to be a sinner. And so it also does not know that man is destroyed only by his sin and can be healed only by forgiveness. Worldly wisdom knows what distress and weakness and failure are, but it does not know the godlessness of man. The greatest psychological insight, ability, and experience cannot grasp this one thing: what sin is. No matter how Christians mark Lent, its heaviness makes the celebration of Jesus's resurrection on Easter all the more glorious! But for now, read on for 40 Lent quotes to inspire you this year.“The most experienced psychologist or observer of human nature knows infinitely less of the human heart than the simplest Christian who lives beneath the Cross of Jesus. Its 40-day length also echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert as recounted in the New Testament of the Bible. For Christians Lent emphasizes an awareness of sin that separates them from God, and giving up, or taking on, something sacrificial reminds them of their "utter dependence upon God by finding in Him a source of sustenance beyond food," as Dallas Willard is quoted saying below. You've likely heard of fasting from sweets, alcohol, soda, social media, or the like for the season (options of what to give up for Lent are endless!), but don't confuse these actions with New Year's resolutions. To help you meditate on this time and the meaning behind it, we have rounded up 40 quotes from Catholic popes and writers and other Christian thought leaders as well as some Bible verses below. Lent's dates might change from year to year, but its purpose remains the same as a time of repentance and fasting. Springtime brings the festive celebration that is Easter, but before it in the Christian calendar comes the season of Lent, marking the 40 days (excluding Sundays) between Ash Wednesday and Easter.
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