Hearing without Listening

Last July 26 I was reflecting on the Gospel passage for the day which was about Jesus' explanation of the Parable of the Sower (Mt 13:18-23). The pericope reminded me of the time when we, as college seminarians tried to catch other seminarians off-guard as to whether they listened to the gospel reading in the Mass that morning. We just rang off with “What is the Gospel for today?” Then those who did not know it (those who either forgot or did not listen at all) would meet the one asking with a sheepish look. That made them more aware and thus be more attentive the next time the Gospel was read.

The parable reminds me of a famous song by Simon and Garfunkel: “The Sound of Silence.” It has the lines: “And in the naked light I saw/ ten thousand people, maybe more/ people talking without speaking, people hearing without listening…”

Yes, indeed, it is possible for people to hear without listening. And sad to say, this is what often happens. At school we give announcements often—surely, everyone hears them but not everyone really listens. Hearing is involuntary; listening, voluntary.

But heed this: listening opens to us a lot of possibilities. I teach music to our 3rd and 4th year high school students. Last week, I asked them to listen once more to the Medieval Music that we have discussed in the past. I asked them to write anything that came into their mind (feelings, memories, imagination, entire stories) as they listened to the selection of music. I was impressed with many of the essays. The product of listening is a work that is profound.
This is one task that we should not give up on: that of moving others not only to hear but to really listen. May this not fall on deaf ears, nay more, on ears that do not listen.