Silence
I find silence to be an amazing thing. So often in the world today, we are faced with the cacophonous sound of television, internet videos, music, frivolous arguing and countless other things which I can’t even ponder at the moment; then, there are those moments where everything just stops. Still, even when there is physical silence, our minds can create their own noise and at times repeat the rubbish of the day over and over again; therefore, I think it is truly beautiful when one can truly engage in silence, the quieting of the mind.
It can be quite astounding when one is finally able to make the mind stop its banter and focus on one thing. Of course, me being who I am, I write about prayer. It has been written that when one prays that they should focus upon every word spoken or thought, and I believe it is only when all distraction is truly cast away that we can truly give ourselves to prayer, but to acquire that silence is a daunting task because it forces one to reject all the distractions of life and at times sit with ourselves for a bit and look interiorly, which can be a bit scary to some.
It may be said that to acquire this silence during the day is quite impossible, as there is always so much to do, but I hold the belief that it is a matter of discipline and practice. In our prayer lives, we should set times when we will pray and try to keep to them, but even when that fails, we should not lament. Instead, we should adapt and use what we have at our disposal. For example, many of us are not able to hide behind the walls of a monastery; however, we can form a wall of meditation and prayer. When I lived in New York City, I often travelled the subway, but even when surrounded by people and the noise of the train, I was able to have interior silence. It is possible, even in the busy city to meditate upon God, pray the rosary; essentially, enter into an intimate dialogue with Him.
Living in a major metropolitan doesn’t mean that we cannot begin to focus totally upon God as we walk the streets, or gaze upon His beauty of creation and meditate. True, this is may not be optimal, but in these moments a silence can be created. Nevertheless, it comes down to the quieting of our minds.
In the whole equation of life, much of what concerns us really amounts to vanity and nothingness; therefore, to seek silence and meditation in life requires us to mortify ourselves, to deny aspects of our worldly existence that are truly trivial, and it also requires us to have great trust in God, which can be difficult, but can be obtained through prayer, the Sacraments, and His grace. Ultimately, we need only ask and we shall receive.
The world is a noisy place, full of distractions and allurements, but even in a world that can be antagonistic to the Christian way of life, we can find time to truly abide with God and spend time in praise and conversation with Him, but it will require us to truly prioritize and put God first in our lives, when this happens, we will find time to be in silence with him or at least quiet our minds enough that we can truly hear His voice. Ultimately, we must make time for God and in doing so we will find the peace of His love, but we must be willing to reject ourselves to find Him and see His greatness, lest we lose sight of Him and truly become tepid in our devotions and love.
It can be quite astounding when one is finally able to make the mind stop its banter and focus on one thing. Of course, me being who I am, I write about prayer. It has been written that when one prays that they should focus upon every word spoken or thought, and I believe it is only when all distraction is truly cast away that we can truly give ourselves to prayer, but to acquire that silence is a daunting task because it forces one to reject all the distractions of life and at times sit with ourselves for a bit and look interiorly, which can be a bit scary to some.
It may be said that to acquire this silence during the day is quite impossible, as there is always so much to do, but I hold the belief that it is a matter of discipline and practice. In our prayer lives, we should set times when we will pray and try to keep to them, but even when that fails, we should not lament. Instead, we should adapt and use what we have at our disposal. For example, many of us are not able to hide behind the walls of a monastery; however, we can form a wall of meditation and prayer. When I lived in New York City, I often travelled the subway, but even when surrounded by people and the noise of the train, I was able to have interior silence. It is possible, even in the busy city to meditate upon God, pray the rosary; essentially, enter into an intimate dialogue with Him.
Living in a major metropolitan doesn’t mean that we cannot begin to focus totally upon God as we walk the streets, or gaze upon His beauty of creation and meditate. True, this is may not be optimal, but in these moments a silence can be created. Nevertheless, it comes down to the quieting of our minds.
In the whole equation of life, much of what concerns us really amounts to vanity and nothingness; therefore, to seek silence and meditation in life requires us to mortify ourselves, to deny aspects of our worldly existence that are truly trivial, and it also requires us to have great trust in God, which can be difficult, but can be obtained through prayer, the Sacraments, and His grace. Ultimately, we need only ask and we shall receive.
The world is a noisy place, full of distractions and allurements, but even in a world that can be antagonistic to the Christian way of life, we can find time to truly abide with God and spend time in praise and conversation with Him, but it will require us to truly prioritize and put God first in our lives, when this happens, we will find time to be in silence with him or at least quiet our minds enough that we can truly hear His voice. Ultimately, we must make time for God and in doing so we will find the peace of His love, but we must be willing to reject ourselves to find Him and see His greatness, lest we lose sight of Him and truly become tepid in our devotions and love.
Excerpt from St. Augustine: Letter to Proba
"Let us always desire the happy life from the Lord God and always pray for it. But for this very reason we turn our mind to the task of prayer at appointed hours, since that desire grows lukewarm, so to speak from our involvement in other concerns and occupations. We remind ourselves through the words of prayer to focus our attention on the object of desire; otherwise, the desire that began to grow lukewarm may grow chill altogether and may be totally extinguished unless it is repeated stirred." (Christian Prayer: The Liturgy of the Hours, "Reading 13: Let us turn our mind to the task of prayer at appointed hours", p. 2028, Catholic Book Publishing Company)
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