Silence - A Lenten Reflection

One of my favorite saints of all time is St. Francis of Assisi. His riches-to-rags story is moving and utterly shocking. He braved ridicule from family and friends to give up an extravagant lifestyle for a simple life dedicated to the service of God and the church. Talbot’s The Lessons of St. Francis: How to Bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life is a remarkable book on the virtues of St. Francis. While the entire book is worth reading and rereading, especially during the season of Lent, one of the chapters that stood out to me most was the one on solitude.

In our digital age of cell phones, iPods, XM radios, and laptops, it is so difficult to find time for quiet. Not only is it challenging to find the right setting, our own attitudes block the ears of our heart. We often consider silence undesirable or unproductive. Maybe even a bit scary. In silence we are forced to face the reality of ourselves and our God. Looking into the depths of our souls, we see immense possibilities for joy and peace, but also dark areas of sin and weakness. Silence is where we become authentic; we enter into deeper communication with the Lord, who speaks to us in soft whispers. Sometimes in our prayer life we put too much focus on our side of the bargain; we hardly ever forget to remind God of our needs and desires. However, it is just as vital for us to make quiet time each day to simply listen to what the Lord is saying to us. Talbot’s book contains a powerful passage from writer Glenn Tinder, who speaks on how silence with God ultimately leads to more fruitful relationships with others:

“If you have never, all alone, tried to define your major convictions, you cannot enter into truth-seeking conversation and are thus incapable of deep human relations. If you cannot be apart from others, you cannot engage in prayer and meditation and cannot enter into genuine relationship with God. If you recoil from solitude, it may even be said, you are politically disabled; you necessarily lack the spirit of independence needed to stand for what is right in the public realm” (62).

This passage may seem harsh. Just because I don’t want to spend time alone means that I am politically disabled? I do think there is great truth here. For example, we all know how annoying those callers on radio talk shows are who have opinions on every issue under the sun, but no real evidence or reason to believe so. “That’s just how it is,” they say. Oftentimes not much thought or reflection is put into these opinions. Silence seems to be a place where we can get a boost of energy (aka grace, God’s life in us) and recharge ourselves in tackling the big questions whose answers shape our thoughts and actions. During Lent I encourage Catholics on Call alumni to find ten minutes in the day to merely sit and listen. Remember the beautiful prayer Eli the priest taught Samuel in the Old Testament: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9). Only after listening to God and understanding more deeply what He wants of us can we respond in generous service during our Lenten journey, just as St. Francis did so consistently and joyfully throughout his life.

Talbot, John Michael. The Lessons of St. Francis: How to Bring Simplicity and Spirituality into Your Daily Life. New York: Plume, 1998.

Patty Kaczmarek, COC alum from summer 2008