SILENCE in the 2nd WEEK of ADVENT

 

 Biblical revelation and the lives of the Saints all make clear that God speaks to us the best in silence.  We need it, far more than we admit these days and Advent is a great season to make some time for it. When I read the lives of the saints, be they from ages past, or more modern ones, I am always amazed at how much they treasured silence- time alone with the Lord. Some were contemplative, living in a religious comunity, or even alone, but many had active works such as teaching or care of the sick and poor.  And many have been lay people. No matter the life, they found the time for quiet prayer.  They understood that silence is the basis for contemplative stillness, emptiness of the mind, freedom from the distracted mind, which leads us deeper into life with Jesus.

" Noise is a deceptive, addictive, and false tranquilizer. The tragedy of our world is never better summed up than in the fury of senseless noise that stubbornly hates silence. This age detests the things that silence brings us to: encounter, wonder, and kneeling before God." (Cardinal Sarah: The Power of Silence)

Living on a small island away from the hustle and chaos of the world, there is more opportunity to find times for silence, and since our community is a small one, we have more space to be alone, and more times for silence, especially in this time of Advent. In spite of the rains and damp chill, it is my favorite time in the monastery. My prayer is that all may find a small time, each day to prepare in silence for the coming of the Lord.

Icon:  “Our Lady of Silence” in the Vatican painted at the Benedictine Convent of San Giulio d’Orta in the Italian province of Novara.