In one of his last messages, Pope Francis urges listening

In a newly released video, the late Pope Francis urges young people to practice listening. The Holy Father recorded his message on January 8, a month before he entered the hospital for respiratory complications. It was released on Sunday as young people gathered to celebrate the Jubilee of Adolescents, and to mourn the Holy Father, who died on April 21.

“Dear boys and girls, one of the most important things in life is to listen — to learn how to listen,” Pope Francis said on the video recorded at Casa Santa Marta, where his residence was located.

He suggested letting others finish speaking first, “so you can really understand. And then, if you feel like it, respond.”

“But,” he emphasized, “the important thing is to listen.”

An essential skill for peace

The young people to whom the message was addressed participated in listening workshops as part of a program encouraging dialogue with adults about various topics. In his brief message, the late Pope said that many people don’t know how to listen. “Halfway through an explanation, they’ll answer,” Pope Francis observed, “and that doesn’t help peace.”

He especially urged young people to pay attention to their grandparents. “Listen to your grandparents,” the Pope said. “They teach us so much.”

He then promised to pray for those watching and offered a blessing.

Asking for the grace “to listen more than we speak”

The art of listening was an important theme of Pope Francis’ papacy. He often stressed the importance of allowing others to be heard, especially those who were frequently ignored. In 2022, Pope Francis warned about the loss of listening skills. “In fact,” the Pope said, “we are losing the ability to listen to those in front of us, both in the normal course of everyday relationships and when debating the most important issues of civil life.”

He stressed the holiness of listening, emphasizing that it “corresponds to the humble style of God.” The Pope added that “there is a great need to listen to and to hear one another” in the Church, calling listening “the most precious and life-giving gift we can offer each other.”

And in his general audience on January 29, Pope Francis pointed to the example of St. Joseph, who, after receiving a dream from God, “does not utter a word,” but expresses himself in “concrete deeds.”

“Sisters, brothers, let us, too, ask the Lord for the grace to listen more than we speak, the grace to dream God’s dreams and to welcome responsibly the Christ who, from the moment of our baptism, lives and grows in our life,” Pope Francis concluded.

Featured image: Pope Francis speaks to young people in one of his last messages to be released. (Photo: Screen grab from YouTube)