Listening for the holy means accepting others as beloved.

“Even before losing my hearing, so much of my identity was upheld by trying to meet expectations, gain and maintain approval, and avoid rejection at all costs. I was deaf to the voice of God calling me the beloved.” Sarah Forti

“From our center of being grounded in contemplative practices, we can choose to listen for the Holy by receiving the other as a whole person, not merely their words, but God’s intention for them as his beloved,” writes Sarah Forti in “Listening for the Holy,” from Soul Food: Nourishing Essays on Contemplative Living and Leadership.

Book cover Soul Food

 

About the Author & Text

Sarah Forti is the co-director of “Crossing the Threshold”, a two-year Contemplative Leadership program at the Shalem Institute of Spiritual Formation in Washington, DC. Sarah also teaches Group Spiritual Direction at Shalem, and serves as Director of Missions and Ministry Programming at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Bon Air, VA.