Transforming how you listen to and approach people

Sr. María Pilar Brufal Jaén, fi, JRS Thailand

Part two of our JRS Lenten Reflection series 

My encounters with refugees have transformed my way of listening and approaching people, from my deepest being, as Jesus did. From vulnerable, patient, stripped down and kind listening, I feel God’s presence, incarnated in each of my refugee brothers and sisters. 

Meetings are safe spaces for conversation where everyone feels recognized and loved. They share their suffering, desires, resistances, and joys as they go through a process of personal reconciliation, empowering themselves to be hopeful reconcilers in their homes and communities. They feel that by listening to others, their pain is lessened, and they have the desire to help others. Even if some see how their process is helping the whole family others are not ready to forgive yet.  

An Invitation for PRAYER 

Take care of serene times to welcome God’s presence in your life, to love the Lord and others with unconditional love. Prepare for the moment of your prayer and listen with your heart to the Word of the Lord. Ask him for what you want to live and thank him for his step in everything that is happening in your life. In Mk 7:24-30, the woman Syrophences touched the heart of Jesus because He listened to her in depth. Vulnerable listening sets us up for transformation. 

An Invitation for FASTING 

Before entering a meeting, a class, an event, make internal silence to be ready to meet people by listening patiently, empathetically, and without prejudice, to connect in depth with them.

An Invitation for ALMSGIVING 

Donate time to listen to someone who has a different opinion from yours and welcome them without judgment.

A highlight on Thailand

Thailand remains a host country for thousands of refugees and asylum seekers from across the region, many of whom live in highly vulnerable conditions. JRS Thailand’s Urban Refugee Project accompanies refugees and asylum seekers in Bangkok and Mae Sot, providing casework assistance, mental health and psychosocial support, and skill-building programmes. The casework service focuses on meeting basic needs such as housing, food, medical care and transport by providing financial assistance. On the border with Myanmar, around 100,000 people live in nine refugee camps. JRS provides educational opportunities to migrant children living in the camps on the Thai side of the Myanmar border