• What makes God the best listener?

    “That’s how God listens to us.” Fr. Robert Presuttie said this during the half-day retreat at Divine Mercy University.  The curious statement caught my attention.  The retreat was tucked away in a five-day spiritual direction residency devoted to practicing listening skills.  Each day the students would practice role-playing different scenarios that a spiritual director might encounter.  They weren’t doing spiritual direction but practicing the foundational skill that makes for a good spiritual director:  Deep listening. As an adjunct faculty member, I facilitated the role-plays, offered suggestions, and evaluated the students’ use of these skills.  These skills included silence, presence, affirmation, empathy, and images.  The goal for the students was to deepen…