Sacred Silence

Be on the lookout for ways our three enemies–the spirit of the world, the weakness of the flesh, and the devil– try to urge us away from silence.  These spirits know that when we are silent, we encounter the living God.  St. Augustine said it best in his Confessions:

“Late have I loved you, beauty so old and so new: late have I loved you. And see, you were within and I was in the external world and sought you there, and in my unlovely state I plunged into those lovely created things which you made. You were with me, and I was not with you. The lovely things kept me far from you, though if they did not have their existence in you, they had no existence at all. You called and cried out loud and shattered my deafness. You were radiant and resplendent, you put to flight my blindness.”

For the Christian, silence is not the absence of something, but the presence of Someone. In the liturgy, silence is not a pause to fill, but a sacred space where we open our hearts to God. The Church teaches that silence at Mass is an essential part of our worship. It allows us to prepare our hearts before the readings, to meditate after the homily, to adore after the consecration, and to give thanks after Communion. In these moments, God Himself speaks to us, not in thunder or earthquake, but in the “still small voice” (1 Kings 19:12).

In a world filled with constant noise and distraction, the silence of the Mass is meant to be a healing gift. It helps us to recognize that the liturgy is not something we “do” for God, but something we receive from Him. When we grow comfortable with silence, we begin to hear the Lord’s whisper and to rest in His peace.

Speaking of receiving gifts, I want to express my gratitude to all of you for your flexibility as we begin the long-anticipated cleaning of our church ceiling. It is a project that will help preserve and beautify our sacred space for years to come. Thank you for your patience in relocating to the gym for Masses during this time. Just as the silence of the liturgy invites us to see with the eyes of faith, so too this temporary relocation reminds us that the Church is not a building, but the People of God gathered to worship Him.

May this season of small inconveniences open us to the greater graces God desires to give us, through silence, through sacrifice, and through His abiding presence among us.

Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!
All you holy saints of God, pray for us!

Peace in Christ,
Fr. Michael Silloway
Pastor