Tag Archives: Silence

September 17, 2020 · 6:33 pm

Silence As Discovery

Silence is never merely the cessation of words…. Rather it is the pause that holds together— indeed, it makes sense of— all the words , both spoken and unspoken. Silence is the glue that connects our attitudes and our actions. Silence is the fullness, not emptiness; it is not absence, but the awareness of a presence.

—JOHN CHRYSSAVGIS

The writer of the Book of Romans says, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. “(Romans 8:26) These words of scripture have been heavily debated and interpreted in many ways. In the Charismatic movement, they are generally interpreted as a “prayer language” that is bestowed upon someone in an ecstatic state. In 1 Samuel 1:13 we have this example, “Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard.” The link that is consistent is silence or the lack of words.

Theologian and scholar, John Chryssavgis, tells us that silence is so much more than a lack of words. It is indeed a joining of our spirit with the spirit of God. All of us want to find a way to God’s front door. We want to talk to him and hear from him. Sometimes the only way to do that is to embrace a “holy silence.”

The” holy silence” calls on us to pause. The purpose of the pause is to give us time to allow God’s words to surface in our crowded mind. Our minds and hearts are so jammed with the cares of life that God is never heard amid the cacophony of sounds and experiences that make up a single day. Somehow, we must find the glue of silence that binds our souls to our Creator. In doing so we begin to connect our attitudes to our actions.

As we connect our attitudes to our actions, we discover our true selves. Many of us spend a great deal of our life attempting to be what we think we ought to be instead of slowing down and silently listening to the message of God. When we do, he gives us things that are beyond words and vision that navigate our spiritual lives. We no longer need an abundance of words, because we possess an abundance of Spirit. That Spirit will enliven us with spiritual groanings that will be perceived by all that we encounter.

The concept of silence as fullness cuts against the grain of conventional thinking. Most of us would consider fullness as being active and involved in all ways with the church and the world. The Contemplative path takes us into a world of silence where we are not retreating but find a fuller way to be involved. Such a fullness allows our God to speak to us in ways that words fail. Through silent involvement we become fully aware of the presence of God in all things. We no longer limit God to a church, a class or a ritual that is prescribed by man. We find full awareness of him as we sit in the practice of a silence that is an invitation to his presence.

We should all carve out some time of silence and isolation so that we hear the voice of God and receive “words” from him.

Prayer

Lord, Allow me the courage to come to you without words and receive the words that you have hidden in my heart when you created me. I acknowledge that you have created me in your image. I confess that I have sorely neglected to develop your image, because I have been so busy making my own image. Let me take a pause so that I might allow your image to take root in me.

Amen

Solitude,Silence and Recollection

Physical solitude, exterior silence and real recollection are all morally necessary for anyone who wants to lead a contemplative life, but like everything else in creation they are nothing more than a means to an end, and if we do not understand the end we will make a wrong use of the means.

We did not go into the desert to escape people but to learn how to find them; we do not leave them in order to have nothing more to do with them, but to find out the way to do them the most good.

~~~Thomas Merton (New Seeds of Contemplation)

Many times in our lives we find ourselves caught in turmoil, and all we seem to be able to do is react. I believe that the underlying reason for reactionary thinking is that we never have taken the time to be alone with God. This alone time with God gives us a perspective that we can never find in any other place. Merton reminds us that silence, solitude and recollection are morally necessary to living a life that is joined with God. When we do so, we can be of greater service to the world. Doing the most good has the prerequisite of finding unity with God. Too many lay and clergy attempt to deal with the world through the means of the world. They are usually angry, utter failures who are only venting to the world in the world’s own language. I lack answers for the great dilemmas of the world, but I have some suggestions about solitude, silence, and recollection.

Solitude is a scary word that we have all come to know from one experience or another. Most times of solitude are forced upon us by some outside circumstance such as a broken relationship, sickness or even a global pandemic, but God-centered solitude is voluntary. It is a solitude that we go into to seek the face of God. Most of us do not have gobs of time for solitude, so let us begin with 15 minutes to an hour of purposeful solitude each day.

Silence is boring in a world that demands noise. The purpose of silence for the Christian is to hear the “voice” of God. When we are silent, we are open receptacles of the words of God. His words are crowded out by the white noise of day to day living. As we practice silence our ears are open to His gentle nudging. That nudging leads to words and wisdom beyond our imagination.

Recollection is painful because it requires us to examine our selves for the good and the bad. It is not until we can face the reality of our failures that we can win the real victories that God wants to give us. Take time every day to recollect your day, from the eyes of God, and you will be surprised where it takes you.

Solitude, silence, and recollection can help us to march on to the highpoint of the Christian life. Through these simple practices we find the means to be the light of the world.

Prayer

Lord, Help me to see the necessity of taking time to be in solitude, silence, and recollection every day. Assist me to find the time necessary for these practices. I trust that you will use my practices for not only my benefit but the benefit of all creation. I ask you this day to allow me to grow in such a way that I will be pleasing to you in all that I do.

Amen

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Tagged as Silence, Solitude, Thomas Merton

January 22, 2015 · 12:08 pm

Prayer for Silence

Jesus our peace, if our lips keep silence, our heart listens to you and also speaks to you. And you say to each one of us: surrender yourself in all simplicity to the life of the Holy Spirit; and with that surrender we may know you in a superlative way. Lord help me to observe a sacred silence. AMEN

Thomas Keating: A Rising Tide of Silence, Official Trailer (prodigal.typepad.com)
9.5 Invitations into the Contemplative Renewal of Christianity – Invitation #2:Grow Deeper (contemplativechristians.com)

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Tagged as Anger, Bethlehem, Bible, Centering Prayer, Christ, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, sacred silence, Sermon, Silence

January 8, 2015 · 5:45 am

On Silence

Catherine of Siena describes religious life as a ship “ready to receive souls who want to race on to perfection and to bring them to the port of salvation. The captain of this ship is the Holy Spirit, who lacks nothing. His religious subjects who violate his orders can hurt only themselves, never this ship.” This goes not only for the ship of religious life, but also for the Church. The ship can never be sunk, though it can be steered into hurricanes. The key is silence.

First, without silence you can’t hear the captain’s orders. Silence is not only a lack of external noise, but internal listening. Without it crucial directions can be missed. The Holy Spirit is not usually a yeller.

Secondly, you need to hear your shipmates. They have specific duties that cannot be explained in the midst of a storm. They may need your help with one of their tasks or they may need to get by you to reach their station. At times, it is through your shipmates that you hear the orders of the captain.

Thirdly, you need to hear your ship. The external structures of the ship require attention and the creaks of the ship communicate to the sailor. Catherine describes the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience as ropes that hold up the sails of the ship. Terrible consequences come of a frayed rope in the midst of a hurricane…

In this extended metaphor, silence is correctly seen as a positive aspect of the religious life and of the Christian life in general. It not only provides the space to listen to God, but it is a weapon of the Christian life. As a pious woman wrote: “Silence is a sword in the spiritual struggle. The sword of silence will cut off everything that would like to cling to the soul.” Storms are not the only danger to a ship, but sea serpents roam the waters too.

We must be prepared to listen past the winds of the world, struggle against the noise of our hearts, and fight the demons of the depths. Silence is the weapon with which we fight the world, concupiscence and demons. It is in the silence of the cross that the ship sails into safe harbor.

Food for Thought-The Prophet Speaks (richardsfoodforthought.com)

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Tagged as Bible, Biblical inspiration, Christ, Christmas, God, Holy Spirit, Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, Silence

February 7, 2014 · 6:04 am

Silent Listening

I recently discovered a fascinating modern mystic. Mama Maggie is a Coptic who works with the poorest of the poor in troubled Egypt. At a leadership conference at Willow Creek Community Church she said, “The hardest task of a leader is to get to know the Almighty and to keep your heart pure.” She asserted that a way to accomplish this is through silence. There “you discover a taste of eternity.” Silence your body to listen to words.

Silence your tongue to listen to thoughts.

Silence your thoughts to listen to your heart beating.

Silence your heart to listen to your spirit.

Silence your spirit to listen to His Spirit.

—–Mama Maggie

I am thoroughly convinced that if all of us would the biblical admonition of “be still and know that I am God” we would experience a sense of peace and be far more successful in all of our endeavors.

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Tagged as Coptic Church, leadership conference, Mama Maggie, Silence, Willow Creek Community Church

February 1, 2014 · 3:20 pm

Into The Silence Part 10

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Filed under Christian Living, Contemplation

Tagged as Christian contemplation, Religion and Spirituality, Silence

March 29, 2013 · 12:27 am

What Do You Find?

I have heard the story below in several different forms, but the message is consistent.

A certain young girl entered a convent to prepare herself for a life of celibacy and service. The institution was one of a very strict order. Besides the requirement of the three evangelical counsels, poverty, chastity, and obedience, the order imposed three other regulations, stability, that is, no leave taking from the grounds, severity, the flagellation of the flesh, and silence, not a word dare be uttered. The Mother Superior explained to the new girl that this rule of silence was rigid. However, once every five years just two words were allowed to be spoken. So at the end of the first five years the novice was called in and instructed that she had earned the rare privilege of expressing two words. Now, what would they be? Her answer: “Food rotten!” Five years later the Mother Superior called her in again and offered her the privilege of two more words. What would she say this time? “Beds hard!” The third time she was called in the novice was exasperated and exclaimed: “I quit!” Whereupon the Mother Superior retorted: “Good riddance! All you have ever done since you have been here is to complain!”

Silence as a practice without a purpose is useless. The old story says nothing about the reason or the reward of the discipline of silence, instead it focuses on the physical rule of keeping silent. Silence as a Christian discipline is not merely for the sake of endurance, but it is to open our inner selves to the presence of God. If we are not seeking God in our quiet, then we will only feel the “hard bed.” When we open ourselves to the mystical presence of God, we find peace and comfort in our quiet times. We find renewal and freshness that takes us through our difficulties.