Dear fellow tear wipers, huggers, booboo kissers, and special moment makers….

This month, my wish for you is this…

That you notice the many ways your children communicate with you,

and that with this noticing, you allow the “ears” of your heart to hear to concerns and longings of children who are not heard or noticed.

That when you listen deeply to your children, you open space to connect with them in new and deeper ways, laying the paths and rhythms that will keep you close for many years to come.

That your listening awakens you to the longings that have sat quiet inside for far too long.

That you hear the voice of who you were before you began raising children and answer its calls – whatever it might be beckoning you back to. Whether that be painting with brushes rather than fingers, reading books that do not contain pictures, or cooking meals that you like even if you are the only one who does.

Listening doesn’t just help us hear others. It also expands our world and helps us hear our own hungers. May that gift of a larger world and knowing yourself more fully be yours this month.

Blessed be, and May It Be So.

April Rosario

Dir. of Faith Formation