08 May Reflective Moments for the Web
Silence
We live in a world polluted with noise – so much noise that every part of our life is inundated by it. Our culture provides us with many ways of avoiding silence. We are constantly exposed to sounds: voices, televisions, cell phones, iPods, radios, music, and traffic. We are so drawn into the noise that we can miss the creative power and fruitfulness of silence.
Silence can feel so uncomfortable and so unproductive. In a world of producing and doing, silence can seem like a real waste. Yet scripture tells us that it is in the stillness and the silence that we meet and know God.
Be still and know that I am God. (Ps. 46:11)
Silence before God, all the earth! (Habakkuk 2: 20)
Then the Lord said, “Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be passing by.” …After the earthquake there was a fire – but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.
(1Kings 19: 11-12)
Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. (Luke 5:16)
It seems that a real experience of God happens in intentional silence. The beginning point of knowing God is deep interior silence. In the depths of our being God speaks to us. Only silence leads us to that depth. Silence is not empty space. It is more aptly described as fertile ground for intimacy with God. Union with God is birthed in wordlessness.
For me, Angelus Silesius says it well in his short poem, Silent Prayer.
God far exceeds all words
that we can here express
in silence God is heard
in silence worshiped best.
Reflection
Invite Jesus and Angela to go with you to the hermitage of your heart.
Rid yourself of outer and inner noise.
Simply sit in silence for five minutes. (Use a timer if needed to avoid watching the clock.)
It may help to be aware of your breath.
Gradually increase your time until you have reached 20 minutes.
Activities
Be in touch with the ways you avoid or resist silence.
Do you constantly have on a television or radio for background noise?
Try doing without them. Be present to whatever you are doing with a listening heart.
Avoid turning on the radio or television when you first rise in the morning.
Spend those first moments of the new day in quiet thanksgiving.
Turn off your car radio and ride in silence.
Spend the last few minutes of your day before retiring in wordless prayer.