The Silence of Advent

By John D. O’Brien, S.J.

Northern Nativity, William Kurelek

Only when you are familiar with silence have you learned to speak; what you have to say can ripen only in silence. – Adrienne von Speyr, Lumina/New Lumina 

Have you ever had that experience when you can’t get to sleep, even though your mind and body are thoroughly exhausted? It’s frustrating, but there’s nothing you can do about it. Last night I tossed and turned, and wondered why. I hadn’t had any caffeine. Nor had I been staring at luminescent screen, which often fools the brain into extending its waking hours. I had thought that I would fall headlong into deep slumber after a long trip, for I was in a warm cabin, surrounded by peace and silence. It was not to be.

Five Simple Tips for a Silent Retreat

By Eric Hanna, S.J.

http://info.sdiworld.org

This is the sort of advice someone might give you – so pay attention.

A prayerful retreat in silence is a powerful experience. A whole day spent away from communication creates a peaceful quiet in which the retreatant can express her or his most subtle and unformed feelings to God and also be open to receiving God's loving replies. Remaining silent, whether for a day, a weekend, or even longer can be difficult for some. So try to follow these five helpful tips so that you can take maximum advantage of your time of retreat.

“Something Strange is Happening”

By Adam Hincks, S.J.

Tomb by Sieger Köder (contemplativecottage.com)

But low, bend low a listening ear!
Beneath the mask of moveless white
A babbling whisper you shall hear
Of birds and blossoms, leaves and light.
– Charles G. D. Roberts
As I write this, I am cognisant that this post will appear on Good Friday and remain at the head of our blog until Easter Monday. What theme can cover this whole weekend, capturing both the end of Lent and the beginning of Easter? It is a tall order, but perhaps some fruit can be found by splitting the difference and looking at the day that falls in between: Holy Saturday.

The New Evangelization

By Artur Suski, S.J.

The phrase “The New Evangelization” has been around for quite some time, and it seems to have originated at some point during the pontificate of the late Pope John Paul II. I have been pondering about the exact meaning of this phrase for a while, especially as to how it relates to my soon-to-be ministry to youth and young adults. So, how are we to understand “The New Evangelization”?

The first thing that undoubtedly comes to mind is that it is new because there has already been an initial evangelization movement, in which those that have never heard of Jesus were introduced to him and the Gospel. The novelty of this new evangelization is that it tries to evangelize a culture or a society that is already familiar with Jesus and the Gospel. This society, however, has for the most part embraced many of the values of the Gospel, yet it has left Christ behind as well as some of his more demanding teachings.

The question is then how to re-evangelize, to “put on the new man” (Eph 4:24)? The following are a few humble insights into the matter:

The Sanctifying Furnace of Silence

By Santiago Rodriguez, S.J.

In The Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius of Loyola gives us the First Principle and Foundation. In it, this Joyful Beggar communicates to us our goal in life: to praise, reverence and serve God our Lord, and by these means to save our souls. In short, we are born to be saints. This statement alarms many: “Saintliness is only for monks and nuns.” Others may recognize the desire to be saints, but their uneasiness and dread stop them from heeding this universal call to holiness.

This is the first stumbling block in our understanding of holiness: we equate holiness with perfection. When we hear that we are called to be saints, we think that we need to be perfect. Well, here is the good news: we don't have to. Perfection cannot be attained on this side of eternity. One of my Jesuit brothers likes to constantly remind the rest of us that we are wonderfully imperfect. Our call is not to perfection; we are called to be whole. Jesus called imperfect people to be His disciples. He worked through their imperfections, and their love for Jesus set them on fire for the Kingdom of God.

The men and women we recognize today as saints had a profound and intimate relationship with Jesus, and they lived out the fruits of that relationship through their interactions with others. If we are to take our vocation to holiness seriously, we need to pray. Prayer needs to become our daily bread. In prayer, we know by faith that God is within us, closer than breathing, thinking, or choosing.

The Sounds of Silence

By John O'Brien, S.J.

No, this article has nothing to do with Simon and Garfunkel. But I can’t help recalling that memorable line from Alanis Morissette’s rather edgy 1995 song “What I Really Want.” The singer asks tauntingly: “Why are you so petrified of silence. Here can you handle this?” – and follows with a strange few seconds of complete … nothing. When she picks up again she sings, “Did you think about your bills, your ex, your deadlines/Or when you think you’re gonna die/Or did you long for the next distraction?”

Ah yes, silence. The state we all long for but sometimes dread. The snatches or expanses of desert, where we can hear our hearts thump and our minds tick. Where we suddenly face the mystery of our own “being”, our contingency and mortality, and begin to ask the important questions we normally avoid in our regular, busy and noisy life.

Lent is, of course, a forty-day desert. But like the place where Christ went to pray and be tested, it is meant to be a place of growth. The only death in this desert is the death of selfish and sinful habits – which we can identify properly only if we have had sufficient space for reflection. There is no religion or spiritual path on this earth that does not involve some stage of purgation, and Lent is one of ours. But what of silence?