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“In the silence of the heart God speaks. If you face God in prayer and silence, God will speak to you. Then you will know that you are nothing. It is only when you realize your nothingness, your emptiness, that God can fill you with Himself. Souls of prayer are souls of great silence.”
― Mother Teresa, In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers
Ah, the silence of summer. Days full of nothing. The older I get the more I appreciate silence. Sometimes silence is awkward, so we try to fill it up with sound. We turn on the TV or radio. We make a phone call. In the car, I rarely ride without the radio on. At home, I turn on the TV.
Over and over I am reminded that God comes in silence. When I take the time to turn off the devices and just listen, I hear joy in the songs of the birds. I hear the whisper of wind. I hear the quiet voice of God.
I took a walk to the park and did not take my phone. I walked alone. I was amazed at the noisiness of the birds, especially the mockingbird. I recorded one high in a tree. During the recording you can hear me say good morning to another walker. Listen and count the number of tunes the mockingbird sings.
When you are most at ease with another person, silence isn’t awkward. We stop trying to fill the open void with chatter. Notice this with your closest loved ones. With them, silence is golden. That’s how it is with God. Quiet moments given to prayer and meditation. Don’t chatter. Let your thoughts flit away like a moth. Ride the silent wave to an ultimate closeness with your creator.
Silence is a source of great strength
Fr Matt, in his little homily Wed said that Someone, probably Rohr, said second half of life prayer is almost no rote reputation but silence to absorb the awe.
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I love how you captured the noise of silence on your walk. The noises around us can’t block the silence when we are in a space to hear–to “absorb the awe” as Anne above said.
I’m always listening to an audio book when I walk, but I realize I’m probably missing out on an hour of silence and/or nature sounds. I need to take those ear buds out of my ears sometimes! Love this line: “Ride the silent wave to an ultimate closeness with your creator.”
I love how you capture the idea of silence being linked to listening. Beautifully stated concept of being still is being filled with the spirit. Thank you.
This is such a beautiful post, Margaret. You are right–silence is so important and so RARE. We should all cultivate it more. I love the Mother Teresa quote, as well!
Margaret, you captured the essence of silence in so many ways in your post. “Let your thoughts flit away like a moth.”-makes me think of the folding in of life as we maneuver our days. If we can observe all around us we may be free enough to let the silence carry us away. I will need to think about this as I freely think and listen. Each morning I try to listen to the birds calling to each other. I can get lost in those beautiful sounds. I am going to listen carefully to news you bring back from the Highlights retreat.
Enjoyed reading your post.
Thank you for the reminder of the power of silence … connecting with Him.