Discovering Silence During the Pandemic

serene

We live in a busy, noisy world. Until recently, I was one of those people who needed to do many things, filling my day with activity. I wanted to save the world with all my good works. The letter of St. James must have been in my wallet because I thought faith without good works was dead. However, the forced quietude of the pandemic facilitated self-reflection and what came after was quite the challenge.

During COVID restrictions, I would call people and check on them, try to support local businesses, making sure to follow all the protocols. Why was I not happy with the lockdown and imposed distancing measures? One reason came to my mind recently during a conversation with the Carmelites. They live in a cloister. So, maybe I was being asked to replicate their life, so to speak, by looking for prayerful silence during this pandemic.

Challenges

Saint John Paul II wrote, “Only in silence does man succeed in Hearing… the Voice of God, which really makes him free.” I would not have known that unless I had to live it. We are afraid of silence. Talk shows, 24-hour newscasts, movies, ideas need to be told and relentless social media all take their toll on our psyche. The need to disconnect, detach or withdraw, call it what you will, but it amounts to the same thing; they are ways of discovering silence.

I must now take time to understand what it is that God is asking from me. I am sure that God does not tell us what He wants and then we go on our merry way. No, it could not be that simple. It is a relationship with Him that is needed every morning – a reconnecting. Jesus took time to be alone – to withdraw. He needed time to pray and be alone with God. How often do we say we need ‘me’ time, quiet time, or something similar but when do we insist that we need time with God?

Speak Lord, your servant is listening.

Scriptural

In the gospel reading for January 17th, Andrew and John met Christ and ran to get Peter. That is one of the many readings that strikes me. This encounter with our Lord changed history forever. From that moment on, the Apostles wanted to be with Him. Where else would they go? There is no other place. I visited a monastery in the Northeastern USA one time, and one of the members came out to greet me.

During the discussion, we talked about many things. One sentence resounded in me – where else would you go that is more important? I ask myself that quite often. It is no small task to try to be in a relationship with Christ and it is a good thing that He comes looking for us because I would not know where to look if I had to do this all on my own.

Looking at Experience

Experience is a good teacher. Recently, I needed to make some changes to what I was living. It was necessary for me, but it was totally unexpected. It was also not so easy to do. However, I had convinced myself that I could save the world around me – that I was necessary. Instead, I only needed to look at great people in the Church to be reminded of who is in charge. Two great Catholics come to mind as I write this:

I am a little pencil in God’s hands. He does the thinking. He does the writing. He does everything and sometimes it is really hard because it is a broken pencil, and He has to sharpen it a little more (Mother Teresa, The Joy in Loving: A Guide to Daily Living).

When I began to discern between God and God’s works, when I chose God and His will and left everything else in His hands, and when I learned to love others, especially my enemies as Jesus loved me, I felt great peace in my heart. Deprived of freedom, of absolutely everything, and living in extreme poverty in my dark cell, I was at peace because I could say, “My God and my all”. The peace that the world cannot give brought me great joy (Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan, The Road of Hope: A Gospel from Prison)

Final Thoughts

I cannot compare to such great people; their words do humble me. Who am I in front of the Infinite? Really? It is a question that I can only ask in silence. It is through silence that the Lord speaks to us. We babble, talk, make flippant comments, and all for the sake of noise. But do we listen? I would submit that listening is the beginning of prayer. We never had a chance much before the pandemic and we might not have the opportunity again, but we do need to be more careful with our time.

My days were full pre-pandemic. They are still full but in a much different way. I need to fill my time with understanding where I go next and then again once I get there, where do I go from there. That is the relationship with our Lord, I guess. It is only in that relationship that we are totally free. Pope Benedict XVI told us, “The ways of the Lord are not easy, but we were not created for an easy life but for great things, for goodness.” I would say that being a pencil in God’s hands is something that would not be easy it would be great if only we say yes to it. That is not easy for sure. Ask any saint for that answer.

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9 thoughts on “Discovering Silence During the Pandemic”

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  3. I really like the message / metaphore from Mother Teresa, it gives me the wish to read her guide.
    I totally agree with the fact that sometimes life can be hard but difficult tests that life gives us are steps or a stones on our way. Looking back, I understand now the puzzle, clues are not coincidences but light on our way. It’s up to us to reveal our potential and see the blessing.
    Thanks.

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  5. this is a reminder that we all need to carry with us all day.Silence is a precious gift that helps us especially if we listen.

    1. “A sower went out…”
      “Amen, Amen I say to you, whoever…”
      “I have come to set the earth on fire, and how…”

      How the Bible reads when 99% of Jesus’ messages are interrupted, mid-sentence.

  6. pilgrimage walks are our time to connect with God.Being still with God is a great opportunity but difficult for many to do.Covid iscolation has many blessings if we can sieze them.

  7. According to google maps, the journey from Capernaum to Jerusalem takes 36 hours by foot, yet only 2:15 by automobile. Likewise, if Paul wanted to shoot a letter from Corinth to Thessalonica, it would take 90 hours to walk it over there. A courier would return to Paul with his answer, 180 hours later – non-stop walking. Yet with all the inventions since that have been marketed as “time-saving”, how much of this time-saved have we given to God?

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