My Thoughts on 11/05/2020

Silence

In these weeks of lockdown with less traffic and less people about, we have become more aware of the sounds that are often drown out by the external sounds of a busy life. This is an ideal time to reflect on the importance of silence.

We all know the temptation of filling our day with sounds to drown out the “still small voice of calm.” Many of us might be at home with more time on our hands but our minds are nevertheless filled with so many conflicting thoughts. Perhaps this week we can more easily find time to sit for ten minutes and just be aware that we are sitting in God. We might say “Come Lord Jesus, Come,” whenever we find distracting thoughts come into our mind.

Dr. Susan Muto, a contemporary Catholic writer who has written extensively on the spiritual life, says: “Silence is not only an essential component of the spiritual life we must preserve if we want to welcome God’s word; it is that which preserves us. What is silence? To be silent is not merely to be mute. Spiritual silence is an emptying of self to make room for God. Ultimately it is only silence that can open us to a deeper experience of God….Each time we retreat to a corner of silence in our project-oriented world, we put ourselves in a state of peaceful readiness. We become docile” (Am I Living A Spiritual Life?, pp. 29-30).