1. Voice of Identity- Before we speak about our mission to listen to God, Jesus took the opportunity to heal the blind man Bartimaeus to reveal the identity of God. Jesus, who is face and mercy of the Father, listens to the cry of Bartimaeus: “Jesus, Son of David have pity on me.” All the people around Bartimaeus did not listen to him; rather rebuked him instead to keep quiet. When he was told to keep quiet, we were told to keep silent all the more he shouted: “Son of David, have pity on me.” (Mk 10:47-48) Jesus intervened immediately and told his disciples to “call him.” (Mk 10:49). This illustrates that God first has the apostolate of the ear. He is a God who listens especially the cry of the poor (Psalm 34). Pope Francis said: “Bartimaeus lies alone on the roadside, far from home and fatherless. He is not loved, but abandoned. He is blind and no one listens to him; when he tried to speak, everyone told him to keep quiet. Jesus hears his plea. When he goes to him, he lets him speak. It was not hard to guess what Bartimaeus wanted: clearly, a blind person wants to see or regain his sight. But Jesus takes his time; he takes time to listen.”

2. Voice of a Command- God is not only a God who listens, but a God who first speaks. In Deuteronomy 6:4, we find one of the instances where God speaks His word. We read: “Hear, O Israel The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.” Here, we find the first duty of Israel as God’s people: to listen to God who speaks. To listen is not an option but a command and a duty of every Israelite. In the story of the healing of Bartimaeus, Jesus brings about the direct effect and fruit of listening: faith and healing. When God speaks, it is to instill faith. When Jesus first said to Bartimaeus, “what do you want me to do for you?” Though it is obvious that the blind man’s desire was “sight,” Jesus wanted to demonstrate that it is God who speaks first. And since, Bartimaeus responded with faith, “Master, I want to see” which was the result of listening, Jesus elicited the second word “Go your way, your faith has saved you.” Speaking, listening, and healing are all interconnected with each other in reference to God. God speaks, God listens, and God heals. These are all the elements for the reason of doing the Apostolate of the Ear.

3. Voice of the Father- The mystery of the Transfiguration was pivotal in the life of the apostles. There were three important reasons why Jesus retreated in Mount Tabor and brought with Him his three disciples Peter, James, and John. The chapters before Matthew 17 illustrate these: first, the clash between Peter and Jesus (Mt 16:23) when Peter could not accept Jesus’ words that he would suffer, be rejected by the elders, would die and raised on the third day. Peter’s human side became vividly evident. Second, the disciples could not understand Jesus. It was painful on the part of both Jesus and his disciples that thoughts do not meet. The disciples’ reaction is embodied in Peter’s comment: “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.” (Mt 16:22) Third, the weariness of a new teaching for the disciples. “whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself; take up his cross and follow me” (Mt 16:24). In their difficult, perplexing, and burdensome situation, Jesus had to cheer them up in their faith. The Father’s voice was the consoling moment for them. In the Transfiguration, there are three important images to remind us of the value of listening. First, it was the Father who was speaking to them. As God was speaking to our “fathers” of faith in the Old Testament, God becomes consistent speaking now to the disciples of Jesus. Among the disciples, Peter, James, and John had the privilege to receive the Father’s voice: “this is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased, listen to Him.” Second, the vocation of being recipients of the Father’s voice is essential to us. Jesus will be the sacrament of the Father. God will be speaking to the disciples in person. With the command of the Father to “listen to Him” there evolves the vocation of being recipients of voices: both of God and people. We have to listen to people and to God.

4. Voice of Suffering- Our capacity to listen to the voices of others springs from our faith towards God who listens to our cry. Chaos, pain, persecution, and even death result from not listening. This happened to St. Stephen who was accused of blasphemy and the Sanhedrin refused to listen. We were told that they “covered their ears and turned on him at once” (Acts 7:57). The world today needs people who are willing to listen. St. James exhorts: “Let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak” (1:19). St. Benedict and St. Augustine encouraged a true listening that must be done with the heart and from the heart: “Do not have your heart in your ears, but your ears in your heart” (Sermon 380, 1). Pope Francis said that among the five senses we have, the ear is the most important because it is where faith enters (Rm 10:17) and it is where a person becomes free. He said: “among the five senses, the one favored by God seems to be hearing, perhaps because it is less invasive, more discreet than sight and therefore leaves the human being more free.”