Silence Is Necessary – On Cultivating Silence in Our Soul

Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 05-28-15 | Msgr. Charles Pope

[Salvation]

Silence Is Necessary – On Cultivating Silence in Our Soul

By: Msgr. Charles Pope

I suppose it goes without saying that we live in a very fast-paced, hectic, and noisy world.  We’re often in a big hurry to get somewhere. Stress is the norm and noise is all around us in the form of radios, televisions, iPods, etc. We’re plugged in but often tuned out. Very few of us live at the pace or volume of normal life.

So overstimulated are we that many literally cannot relax when it is quiet; silence unnerves them. I recently took an informal poll in a class I was teaching and  found that 40% of the students said they cannot fall asleep without a television or radio playing in the background. Many phones and clock-radios have a “sleep” function to allow them to play for a certain amount of time and then turn off (presumably after we have fallen asleep). We used to set our clock-radios to wake us up; now we use them to “soothe” us to sleep with their background noise.

Wow, that’s really overstimulated.

Silence is precious and is a necessary ingredient for the spiritual life. We do well to build as much of it as possible into our lives. Fr. Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange, in his tome The Three Ages of the Interior Life, writes of the need to minimize distractions and noise:

We must create silence in our soul; we must quiet our more or less inordinate passions in order to hear the interior Master, who speaks in a low voice as a friend to his friend. If we are habitually preoccupied with ourselves, seek ourselves in our work, in our study and exterior activity, how shall we delight in the sublime harmonies of the mysteries of the Blessed Trinity present in us? … The disorder and clamor of our senses must truly cease for a life of prayer. … they [must]  eventually become silent and submit with docility to the mind or the superior part of the soul (Vol 1, p. 455, Tan Publications).

Ask yourself if silence is a significant part of your day. Do you cultivate it? Many today struggle with prayer and other quieter activities like spiritual reading because they are overstimulated. Overstimulation leads to being easily bored, having a short attention span, and becoming anxious about silence or inactivity. This is a poisonous brew when it comes to prayer, which requires a certain love for silence, listening, patience, stillness, and restful attentiveness. Having the radio, television, or iPod going all day does not help our soul to hear the still, quiet voice of God.

Some of my quietest moments are my daily holy hour and then later in the day when I write these articles. I have come to cherish these quiet times when I listen to God and ponder His teachings. And then, having listened, I sit quietly again and compose these posts. I really could not write without silence; noise distracts my thoughts too much.

One year during Lent I realized that I had the radio on almost all day long in the background. I decided to turn it off and since then I’ve never gone back. I listen only briefly now, to hear the headlines, and then return to the quiet. I do not own a television. I do make use of Netflix, YouTube, and podcasts for selective viewing/listening of necessary and helpful material. Music, too, remains a joy for me, but not all day long, just on walks or when cleaning.

I only offer this personal testimony to suggest that if I, a former news junkie, could wean myself away, maybe others can too.

Our lives are hurried and noisy. Consider well Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange’s exhortation and build in silence through a growing mortification of the senses. Be very selective as to what you view/listen to, and how often you do so. Find time for silence; it is golden and necessary. I have that God is waiting there for us.

Here’s a beautiful hymn. I put the words in the first comment below:

[Salvation]

Video I

–
And here is a noisy and truthful description of the problem:
–

Video II

[Salvation]

**Here’s a beautiful hymn. I put the words in the first comment below:**

Here are the Verses to the Hymn:

Deck thyself, my soul, with gladness,
leave the gloomy haunts of sadness,
come into the daylight’s splendor,
there with joy thy praises render
unto him whose grace unbounded
hath this wondrous banquet founded;
high o’er all the heavens he reigneth,
yet to dwell with thee he deigneth.

Now I sink before thee lowly,
filled with joy most deep and holy,
as with trembling awe and wonder
on thy mighty acts I ponder;
how, by mystery surrounded,
depths no man hath ever sounded,
none may dare to pierce unbidden
secrets that with thee are hidden.

Sun, who all my life dost brighten;
Light, who dost my soul enlighten;
Joy, the sweetest man e’er knoweth;
Fount, whence all my being floweth:
at thy feet I cry, my Maker,
let me a fit partaker
of this blessed food from heaven,
for our good, thy glory, given.

Jesus, Bread of life, I pray thee,
let me gladly here obey thee;
never to my hurt invited,
be thy love with love requited;
from this banquet let me measure,
Lord, how vast and deep its treasure;
through the gifts thou here dost give me,
as thy guest in heaven receive me.

[Salvation]

Monsignor Pope Ping!

[ShadowAce]

I wholeheartedly agree with this column!

We, as a society, need much more silence!

[Biggirl]

As we go into the summer months, with its long and warm days, it is the best time to go into silence.

[Salvation]

I agree. I treasure my silence.

[Shark24]

Here’s an excellent 10 minute video I’ve used with the teens in class and retreats on “Noise”. I challenge them to see how long they can go into the video before someone breaks the silence. Great insightful exercise and it helps the teens “get it”
http://nooma.com/films/005-noise

[Salvation]

I thought of Elijah and the whisper too.

[Salvation]

Excellent.

[Celtic Conservative]

A large part of our population is actually physically uncomfortable with silence. The Capuchin Franciscan brothers taught me when I was young to value silence. When I am feeling overloaded it is then I realize my need for silence and act accordingly to build in some silence to my day. No radio, no computer- some light prayer and meditation.

CC

[Shark24]

Another tactic we use is to ban all electronics at our Confirmation Year 2 retreats. They run from Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon and we take them to a retreat site in the mountains. At first the teens struggle but by Saturday lunch time they have turned back into normal human beings having fun without the need to text someone. They also are able to better focus on their prayer life. Done over 10 of these in the last few years and it happens every time. Warms my heart.

[Celtic Conservative]

It was during a weeklong retreat my senior year that I learned a very similar lesson. No phones, but plenty of walkmans/ boomboxes. All banned. A very effective way to learn the lesson.

CC

[JPX2011]

Guilty as charged. I can be in silent prayer before the Blessed Sacrament like I was this morning after Mass and be back here posting on FR while having my ear buds in listening to Dr. Dre.

Quite the dichotomy.

[terycarl]

As we go into the summer months, with its long and warm days, it is the best time to go into silence.

Golf courses are virtually silent.....unless you are talking to your ball about ringing out of the hole on a 20 foot putt

[circlecity]

Blaise Pascal pointed this out about 400 years in his “Penses”. There’s nothing new under the sun.