Silence. Why does it frighten us so much? For one, our world is inundated with noise. Our i-pods, our telephones, our televisions, and those who live under the same roof are constantly bombarding us with noise.
Even when we think we are in the midst of silence, there is that ever-present whirring of the fluorescent lights above. Silence can be frightening because we become accustomed to a life filled with noise. Silence frightens us because it challenges us to confront ourselves and how well we live out our divine calling as Christians.
Silence is powerful because it is in silence that we are able to examine our own lives in the light of Christ’s. In silence we are confronted with ourselves — for better or for worse. It is in this confrontation that we are either challenged to become more Christ-like or are frightened by our wretchedness and thus run from Christ — the One Whom we should strive to become.
As Christians, we all share the same call to become alter Christis, or “other Christs.” This is a non-negotiable fact. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians clearly states that “in love God destined us for adoption to Himself through Jesus Christ” (Eph 1:5). Jesus Christ is God’s only Son by nature, but we become the sons and daughters of God by adoption. We become adopted sons and daughters through baptism, which in turn gives us the special grace of becoming alter Christis in our world. We are able to bring Christ to others because we are other Christs.
In silence, we are able to listen, not with our ears, but within the quiet depths of our hearts. In silence, we can grow in our mission of becoming more like Christ. The importance of silence in the Christian life is not something that was invented by monks. The monks, rather, found the need for silence affirmed in the Scriptures. The prophet Elijah did not hear the word of the Lord in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire. He heard the word in the gentle whisper (1 Kgs 20). It was a whisper that would not have been heard except with the silence of mind and heart. John the Baptist lived in the desert — a place of extreme silence.
Before Jesus began His public ministry, the Spirit drove Him into the desert silence for forty days. And throughout His ministry Jesus would “withdraw to deserted places to pray” (Lk 5:16). In the moments before He was betrayed in Gethsemane He went away from His disciples to pray. It was in the silence of the garden that Jesus was able to accept the bitter chalice as His Father’s will. Jesus had to pray to His Heavenly Father in silence. How much more ought we to imitate this practice of the God-man, Jesus Christ?
It may seem as if attaining silence is impossible. Sure, we can easily turn off the television and the cell phone. But what about dealing with the people we live with? The solution is simple. Take any free time one might have: those precious few minutes after the baby is put to bed or when the college roommate leaves the room. Giving God this time in silence allows Him to do the “talking.” In silence, we can better understand His will in our lives so to better live out our divine calling to become another Christ.
Silence’s power is a gift from God that calls us to convert our lives more truly and more perfectly to that of Jesus Christ so that, like Christ, we can live out our mission as sons and daughters of the Father. Let us take a break from the noise and allow the silence to fashion us into other Christs in our world.
© Copyright 2006 Catholic Exchange
Br. John Chrysostom Kozlowski, O.P., a Dominican student brother of the Province of St. Joseph (Eastern Province, USA) is currently in formation for the priesthood at the Dominican House of Studies. Check out www.vocations.blog.com.
