Create The Great Silence At Home

Take a tip from the monastics—make it a habit to indulge in the “great” or “grand” silence. You won’t regret it.

Draw Near to God

In his Rule, St. Benedict of Nursia speaks of silence in multiple places. In particular, at Chapter 42, he tells us:

…silence at all times, but especially at night…on leaving Compline, no one will be permitted to speak further…except on occasions when guests require attention or the abbot wishes to give someone a command…

Compline is the last period of the Divine Office. In other words, it’s what we call Night Prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours. Once that prayer is complete, monks head to their cells in silence and maintain that silence—the “great” silence—until early the next morning. This great silence allows a monk to go to bed abandoned to God, and not worked up with worldly worries.

An Active Silence

St. John Climacus, a Byzantine abbot at Mt. Sinai later wrote,

Intelligent silence is the mother of prayer…the friend of silence draws near to God and, by secretly conversing with Him, is enlightened by God.

All of us—monastics or otherwise—really need silence in our lives. We need silence to listen to God. This is the kind of silence Fr. Boniface Hicks, OSB refers to as the silence of listening, “…an active silence, an active listening… hoping to silence noise so as to hear the voice that speaks very softly…”

By creating our own great silence before the evening or night is over, we’re working at silencing both external and internal noise. Maintaining this great silence until the end of our morning prayer and spiritual exercises allows us the solitude we need to be better recollected in the presence of God and to be attentive to His “still small voice.” (cf. 1 Kings 19:12)

Great Silence At Home

You may be thinking, “Wait just a minute here! I’m not a monastic. I live out in the secular world. I have a family. I have responsibilities—people need to communicate with me. Do you mean I should just ignore them?”

Absolutely not—we each need to live according to our state in life. If you have a family, of course, you’ll likely be communicating with them after whatever evening prayer or spiritual devotion you perform. Similarly, in the morning, someone may need your attention before you begin your prayer time. But what are you doing to create and preserve an intentional silence into which you can let the Lord enter?

Is It Necessary?

Another possible objection to the “great silence” may simply be a general question of whether it’s really necessary to do anything differently. Consider, however, the recent findings from Talker Research that show about 70% of the time Americans spend online leaves them feeling overwhelmed, anxious and irritable. Anxiety and irritation take your peace away. They do not come from the Lord.

As you close out the day, what images, sounds and messages do you want rattling around in your psyche and your soul? Will you settle for those that leave you agitated, distressed and upset? Or do you prefer the peace of Christ? You can choose what you let into your consciousness, and when you do so.

Drifting off to sleep in the arms of God, in His peace, seems like a better option than heading to bed with busy or bothersome thoughts. And what about the next morning? It’s all too easy to reach for the smart phone first thing, to check e-mails, texts, and the latest local, national and global headlines.

Few news headlines are of the “good news” variety. Would you rather start your day fresh with God and His love, peace and joy, or with updates on all that’s wrong everywhere? (You’ll have plenty of time to hear and read about all that’s wrong later, if you must.)

Turn It Off

So, what does the great silence look like for a lay person? Simply stated—a big part of it is unplugging from the web, from the smart phone, tablet, computer, and yes, from the cable TV or other media at a time prior to preparation for bed. And, practicing the great silence doesn’t mean simply putting down or shutting off the phone right before you brush your teeth and don your pajamas.

If you’re in the habit of praying in the evening, be it Evening Prayer or Night Prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours, a Rosary or other prayers, step away from all technological distractions when you finish that prayer time. Then, stay off of phone calls, texts and e-mails. Don’t go back to the technology devices or turn them on until you’ve completed your morning prayer time the next day.

It Will Work for You

How difficult might this be? It depends partly on how addicted you might be to the technology and to the stimulation it provides. But, if you’re one of the 70% feeling overwhelmed in the study cited above, you actually might find it quite pleasant.

On the other hand, author John Mac Ghlionn notes that the average adult can only focus for about 40 seconds, thanks to the rewiring effect technology already has had on some users’ brains. This might severely impact one’s ability to sit still in God’s presence, and to listen to Him. It creates what he calls a “spiritual ADHD”.

Even if you aren’t addicted to the technology devices in your home, how comfortable are you in just sitting by yourself, with God, in silence? Many people struggle with the ability to sit still and face whatever issues they need to bring to God. Silence can create discomfort, so that it may feel better in the moment to dodge, delay, or defer.

But the head-in-the-sand approach always leads to suboptimal results. Whatever obstacles you believe might be there, if you’re serious about deepening your spiritual life, God will give you the grace you need to deal with them. “For with God nothing will be impossible.” (Luke 1:37)

This great silence works, not only for monastics around the world, but also for us living in the world. After having taken up the practice, I can share that it makes a positive difference. And a couple of times I’ve cheated, breaking technology silence in the mornings before starting my prayer time. That made a difference–not a positive one. If you’re interested in adding the great silence to your regimen, discuss it with your spiritual director or regular confessor, and perhaps add it to your rule of life.

“Silence precedes and prepares for the privileged moment when we have access to God…” Cdl. Robert Sarah, 270, The Power of Silence Against the Dictatorship of Noise