Dhaniel Whisnu, cicm
Missionary in Italy
A Graceful Pause
We begin with gratitude: to God who never ceases to speak, even when our hearts grow tired or overwhelmed; for the grace to stop amid responsibilities and deadlines; and for the sacred days we, Casa Generalizia and Collegio members, shared during the CICM Rome Community Retreat from September 29 to October 3, 2025, at the Foyer de Charité Marthe Robin in Ronciglione, Viterbo.
This retreat, guided by our confrere Msgr. Cyprien Mbuka, Emeritus Bishop of Boma, focused us not on theories, strategies, or pastoral recipes, but on a deeply evangelical and demanding challenge: to truly listen to the Spirit. This central invitation—to ground our lives and mission in attentive, Spirit-led listening—became our key takeaway from the opening days.
The Invitation
The retreat’s theme, from the Book of Revelation—"‘Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches’ (Rev 2:7): An appeal that remains relevant”—oriented our reflection toward listening, not as a passive act, but as an engaged interior disposition. The last book of the New Testament, often seen as complex or symbolic, is presented as a profoundly pastoral text in which the author addresses real communities - attentive to their struggles, weaknesses, and hopes. Each message contains exhortation and encouragement, always concluding with the same appeal: to listen to the Spirit.
In our contemporary context, this invitation takes on particular urgency. We live in a world saturated with information, rapid communication, and constant stimuli. Such an environment risks weakening our capacity for deep listening. During the retreat, we were therefore invited to recover the spiritual meaning of listening: listening to God in prayer, listening to the cries of people, listening to our personal and communal history, and listening to the charism entrusted to our Congregation. As the Psalm warns us daily in the Invitatory: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts” (Ps 95:8; Heb 3:15). Listening, thus, becomes the threshold of conversion. Without it, discernment remains superficial, and mission loses its evangelical depth.
Listening in Scripture
Early in the retreat, Bishop Cyprien reminded us that to pause is not to escape mission, but to make mission sustainable. “We need to stop,” he said, “in order to walk longer and further.” Four fundamental attitudes were proposed as the spiritual framework of the retreat: contemplative meditation, attentive listening, silence, and time for rest. Silence, in particular, challenged many of us. Silence exposes what noise usually hides — our fears, disappointments, fatigue, and sometimes our loss of interior direction. Yet it is precisely in silence that the Spirit finds room to speak. As the prophet Elijah discovered, God was not in the earthquake or the fire, but in “a light silent sound” (1 Kgs 19:12). For missionaries accustomed to doing, planning, and responding, relearning again how to remain silent before God becomes a humble act of trust.
Our retreat master traced the biblical tradition, where listening is central to God’s relationship with humanity. God listens first: to creation, suffering, and the cry of the oppressed. Yet humans often fail to listen, choosing their own way: Adam and Eve hide, Cain succumbs to jealousy, and the builders of Babel ignore God, ending in division. Scripture also shows positive examples: Samuel recognizes God’s voice and answers, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3:10). Solomon requests “a listening heart” (1 Kgs 3:9), showing wisdom comes from attention, not power.
Kenosis and Listening
This biblical path reaches its fullness in Jesus Christ. The Gospels present Him as the Son who lives in constant communion with the Father through the Spirit. His entire mission unfolds as an act of listening and obedience. “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work” (Jn 4:34) expresses not resignation, but profound filial freedom. In a specific way, Jesus listens through kenosis, the voluntary self-emptying described by Saint Paul: “Though he was in the form of God, he did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself” (Phil 2:6-7). This kenotic attitude allows Him to remain compassionate and faithful even in moments of trial. Guided by the Spirit, He embraces vulnerability and offers Himself entirely for others. His listening becomes concrete love: “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (Jn 15:13).
Bishop Cyprien emphasized that kenosis is freedom, not humiliation. By emptying himself, Jesus becomes fully available, his words aligning with his life. This unity brings deep peace—true joy as Jesus promised: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.” (Jn 15:11). For us missionaries, it was unsettling: how often do we measure mission by productivity while Jesus measures by love and joy?
Mary and Décentrement
Alongside Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary emerged as a luminous model of listening. Her response at the Annunciation — “Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word.” (Lk 1:38) — reveals a freedom grounded in trust and openness to God’s initiative. Throughout the Gospel, Mary listens more than she speaks. She listens at the Visitation, at Cana, in moments of misunderstanding, and even at the foot of the cross. When words fail, she chooses silence. “And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Lk 2:19). In her, we discover that listening does not always produce immediate understanding. Sometimes it means waiting faithfully in darkness.
Mary’s journey reflects what our retreat master called décentrement—moving away from the self as center. This spiritual movement opposes self-referentiality, a silent risk in religious life. When self-sufficiency grows, true mission fades. Décentrement means recognizing our limits, making space for others, and rediscovering fraternity as Spirit-driven communion. This echoes the Church’s synodal journey—learning to walk, listen, and discern together.
Obedience and Discernment
Bishop Cyprien reflected on obedience and authority in religious life. Church authority mediates God’s will, aiming for service and unity. Obedience is not blind submission, but a path of discernment and shared responsibility, calling us to trust God through imperfect instruments. Practiced with décentrement, obedience becomes a school of freedom, moving us past personal ambition toward the Church’s good and mission.
A conviction emerged: the Holy Spirit works patiently through history. The early Church learned this by navigating conflict and discernment. Our Congregation, too, is shaped by context and mission challenges, yet the Spirit stays faithful. “The Spirit blows where it wills” (Jn 3:8). Thus, patience is essential, as Jesus teaches in the parable of wheat and weeds: “Let them grow together until harvest” (Mt 13:30). Mission is sustained not by certainty, but by hope.
As the retreat concluded, we did not leave Ronciglione with definitive answers to all the questions. Instead, we left with a renewed desire for humble prayer: “Take away from me, O God, everything that is not part of you.” The key takeaways were increased openness, quiet courage, and a commitment to continue our missionary journey—listening with the heart, walking with one another, and trusting the Spirit who never abandons the Church.
