The Great Silence
Monastic Great Silence is practiced in many monastic orders. It runs for eleven or twelve hours starting about 8 or 9 p.m. and running until about 8 a.m. the next morning. Monks only speak during nighttime prayer services and in cases of necessity. Mostly they remain in silence within themselves and alone with God. Many people who practice silence as a part of their spiritual discipline find it exceedingly difficult at first. We are not used to being alone without background noise, and it can be uncomfortable. A lot of folks are kind of afraid of looking within, because they are afraid of what they will find. Maybe they think that if they see darkness within they will be condemned. Do we think God does not already know us better than we know ourselves? Ironically, from both a psychological point of view and from the viewpoint of Christian theology the opposite is true. What we bring into the light of day will become that which causes us to grow if we offer it to God.
We live in the noisiest time in history. I grew up with television on in the background and I actually find when reading something I prefer to have it on than have complete silence. It is just habit, but not necessarily the best way to study! We have increased the number of devices that keep us outwardly focused with entertainment and music, and that doesn't even account for the noises produced by engines and other means. We need some silence. Of course some of us undergo different kinds of silence such as the silence of a home when a loved one has passed on, or when our children move out. Some of us feel anxiety stress and depression and feel that God is silent when we pray. That is actually a phase of the spiritual life and if we persist we will find it is not true. Many are lonely and experience silence in another way, in the absence of loved ones or friends when they need them. That is a painful silence too. But silence is necessary to growth as Christian people.
In this, perhaps, the noisiest times of our noisy year, we are inundated with the music of the season, parties and services to attend, and shopping to do. Advent, by contrast, is a great silence. We are not celebrating Christmas yet. We are emphasizing the wait of the world for its Savior's first coming, as we wait to celebrate it. We are acknowledging our wait for Christ to return and put things right in our world. Don't get so fatigued with activities from Thanksgiving to Christmas time. Yes, we have much to do, but let us give place to Advent silence a few minutes a day. Spend some time alone with as little background noise as possible. What does it mean to your life that Christ has come? What does it mean in the midst of your joys and sorrows, that he is with you now and will come again. Let a little silence in your life as a place of repose where your soul can rest with God. It will make a difference in your Christmas and maybe your life.
In Expectation,
Jim Stahr
Monastic Great Silence is practiced in many monastic orders. It runs for eleven or twelve hours starting about 8 or 9 p.m. and running until about 8 a.m. the next morning. Monks only speak during nighttime prayer services and in cases of necessity. Mostly they remain in silence within themselves and alone with God. Many people who practice silence as a part of their spiritual discipline find it exceedingly difficult at first. We are not used to being alone without background noise, and it can be uncomfortable. A lot of folks are kind of afraid of looking within, because they are afraid of what they will find. Maybe they think that if they see darkness within they will be condemned. Do we think God does not already know us better than we know ourselves? Ironically, from both a psychological point of view and from the viewpoint of Christian theology the opposite is true. What we bring into the light of day will become that which causes us to grow if we offer it to God.
We live in the noisiest time in history. I grew up with television on in the background and I actually find when reading something I prefer to have it on than have complete silence. It is just habit, but not necessarily the best way to study! We have increased the number of devices that keep us outwardly focused with entertainment and music, and that doesn't even account for the noises produced by engines and other means. We need some silence. Of course some of us undergo different kinds of silence such as the silence of a home when a loved one has passed on, or when our children move out. Some of us feel anxiety stress and depression and feel that God is silent when we pray. That is actually a phase of the spiritual life and if we persist we will find it is not true. Many are lonely and experience silence in another way, in the absence of loved ones or friends when they need them. That is a painful silence too. But silence is necessary to growth as Christian people.
In this, perhaps, the noisiest times of our noisy year, we are inundated with the music of the season, parties and services to attend, and shopping to do. Advent, by contrast, is a great silence. We are not celebrating Christmas yet. We are emphasizing the wait of the world for its Savior's first coming, as we wait to celebrate it. We are acknowledging our wait for Christ to return and put things right in our world. Don't get so fatigued with activities from Thanksgiving to Christmas time. Yes, we have much to do, but let us give place to Advent silence a few minutes a day. Spend some time alone with as little background noise as possible. What does it mean to your life that Christ has come? What does it mean in the midst of your joys and sorrows, that he is with you now and will come again. Let a little silence in your life as a place of repose where your soul can rest with God. It will make a difference in your Christmas and maybe your life.
In Expectation,
Jim Stahr
posted by Theoblogger at
6:06 PM
