Spiritual Exercises: Listening to God is a Prophetic Experience

Last updated: Thu 31 Mar 2022 PM

The Spiritual Exercises of the Pope and the Roman Curia will take place in Ariccia, south of Rome, from this Sunday to March 6. Interview with Father Pietro Bovati, Jesuit and biblical scholar who will lead the meditations.

Interview by Amedeo Lomonaco - Vatican City

"the bush burned without burning. (Exodus 3:2)" - The encounter between God and man in the light of the Book of Exodus, the Gospel of Matthew and the prayer of the Psalms is the theme of the Lenten spiritual exercises of the Pope and the Roman Curia at the House of the Divine Master in Ariccia. Jesuit Father Pietro Bovati, secretary of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, will lead the meditations. The Jesuit biblical scholar explains the itinerary of these spiritual exercises:

R. - The theme of the retreat concerns the experience of God, represented by the encounter of Moses with the burning bush and listening to the Word that comes out of that bush, out of the fire. The Word that illuminates the lives of men and women and dictates the path of life to them. Spiritual exercises are, fundamentally, an aid to this personal encounter of the soul with God. The task of the spiritual guide is to foster this encounter of each one with God in order to listen, in a personal way, to the Word of the Lord. He alone can give each person indications that are both normative and consoling.

What is the itinerary of the Spiritual Exercises?

R. - The way I thought was to make everyone listen to the Word of God, delivered in the Holy Scriptures, following the itinerary of the prophets: listening to God in prayer is indeed a prophetic experience. This is precisely what Moses felt when he heard the voice of God. And the same as Jesus Christ, who throughout his life manifests that he speaks because he is God. Next, we review some Scripture texts showing how Moses and Christ arrange to listen to the Word in such a way that they help their brothers and sisters in a prophetic experience.

Will prophecy and prayer be at the center of these spiritual exercises?

R. - The theme of prayer and prophecy will guide the itinerary that I will try to propose by following, essentially, some texts from the book of Exodus and some passages from the Gospel of Matthew, to express also what is a little bit the dynamism of Lent: during Lent we are invited to retrace, spiritually, the journey of the people who, from the desert to the mountain of God, to the Easter experience.

It will be a journey in the light of the Word of God...

R. - This is essentially what I will try to do, addressing certain themes such as vocation, resistance to God's grace and then showing some of the tasks that are entrusted in particular to those in the community who have roles of responsibility. To conclude with this consoling experience of the presence of God near man, who follows him, leads him and transforms him into a person capable of radiating the light of God.

Listening to the Word of God is the fundamental step for a personal encounter with Jesus and for an authentic prophetic experience....

R. - I see that prayer is often interpreted as a conversation, an expression of the soul to God. It is a dimension of prayer, but its deeper and more authentic dimension is that of the man who speaks to the Lord and says: your servant is listening to you. It is the moment when Moses enters the tent and God speaks to him as a man does with his friend. This familiarity with listening to God is a prophetic experience. In this encounter, we know God's will, we hear what He says is good. And, consequently, he places man in that dimension of obedience, fidelity, faith which constitutes the authentic religious experience. This is what man must try to live in prayer. Do not interpret it simply as a request, or as a recitation of words he addresses to God. The first fundamental thing is to listen: "Listen to his voice today, do not harden your hearts as you did in the desert".

The man who lives in prayer listens to the Word of God. How can the Lord speak to us as He did to Moses?

R. - We think that the experience of Moses is a quite extraordinary experience, like that of the prophets, that of Jesus Christ and also of the first apostles. But that is not true. The purpose of these stories is to tell us what really happens when man arranges himself in prayer and receives the Spirit. That is to say, he is willing to be made capable of receiving this intimate Word that the Lord addresses to each one in his heart. This is the Pentecostal experience of each believer. It is the authentic experience that enables man to enter into a personal relationship with God.

How can this relationship be encouraged?

R. - Receive the prophetic Word, that is, the same Word of God that was delivered in the Scriptures and try to assimilate it because God speaks to us through the prophets, He speaks to us through His Word. And it is a word full of spirit, without date. A word that reaches us today because every inspired word is useful to tell us what God wants in our lives.

The Word reaches us today, in our lives, but it also sheds light on the meaning of history, the meaning of the times?

R. - It helps us to understand and interpret the meaning of history, which is not only a theoretical and general vision. It helps us to see history as it unfolds today in the present. And it allows us not only to live adequately what God wants of each one of us, but also to make us an instrument of light, guidance and encouragement. Witness for our brothers and sisters, so that we may be that lamp, light and leaven that the Lord wants for his Church. For those who have ecclesial responsibilities, this seems to me to be of extraordinary importance.

The presence of the Pope and the Curia will also be a special source of inspiration for you .

R. -There is also almost a sense of wonder to be in this situation. But my humble task as a brother is to transmit this religious experience that I have drawn from listening to the Word of God and to give a little help, a little inspiration for prayer so that one can experience this beauty, this depth, this truth of the Word of God. A word that touches us deeply and personally.

Enlightened words and new hearts. This is the fundamental link...

R. - It is the Word of God which, in a certain sense, has this function of softening hearts, of renewing them from within, of making the heart ever more capable of that spiritual depth and then of that tenderness, that mercy, that compassion which we know to be the very heart of God's revelation for humanity: to go out to meet them to help them, to make them ever more capable of welcoming the mystery of life in its eschatological fullness.

Source: Vatican News

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