Listening to God's word first

"I have always been convinced that if I am to satisfy the people's hunger for the Word of God, I must follow the example of Mary and first listen to it myself and ponder it in my heart (Luke 2:19). I have also come to realise that a bishop must be able to listen to the people to whom he preaches the Good News. Amid today's flood of words, images, and sounds, it is important that a bishop not be thrown off course. He must listen attentively to God and to those around him, convinced that we are all united in the one mystery of God's saving Word."

(John Paul II, Rise, Let Us Be On Our Way, p 43)