[Friday follow-up]
We’re reflecting on John 10:27-30, and particularly, “My sheep hear my voice, I know them and they follow me.”
Regular readers know that “silence” is a favorite theme of Interior Life. You could devote more than one wall of your living room to books that have been written on the topic of silence and spirituality, and in the postscript we’ve included a couple of our favorite quotes on the topic of silence.
For today, let’s consider the difference between our eyes and our ears.
Even if one gives credence to the process of evolution (and we’re not wading into those choppy waters today) – one thing that is certain is that there was nothing random about the physiology of man. Our bodies are exactly what God intended because even our humanity reflects His divinity (which is why He was willing to come down and partake of it).
The ultimate purpose of our body is to lead us to God. That includes our eyes and ears – and they have unique roles to play in our relationship with God. For example, it may be true that “seeing is believing,” (just ask Thomas) but listening is the principle way that we come to know Him.
Never was anyone known to say “we see God in the darkness,” but most everyone intuitively knows that we hear God in silence (we even included such a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson in the postscript).
Now think about this difference between your eyes and your ears: you can close your eyes any old time and not see anything, plunged into darkness. There’s nothing to it. But that doesn’t bring you closer to God.
For that you need silence.
But what about your ears? Unlike your eyes, you can’t simply close your ears. You must seek out silence. You must go out of your way to find it. It’s intentional. It’s purposeful. God designed us that way.
When we make the effort to seek silence we are expressing our desire for God.
Trust in this – any time you intentionally seek silence to be with God, if you could also see Him, there would be a smile.
Praying for times of sacred silence for you this weekend –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life
Postscript: Quotable Silence
“Rising very early before dawn, He left and went off to a deserted place, where He prayed.” – Mark 1:35
“Do you suppose that because we cannot hear Him, He is silent? He speaks clearly to the heart when we beg Him from our heart to do so… Soon after we have begun to force ourselves to remain near the Lord, He will give us indications that … He heard us.” – Saint Mother Teresa
“We need to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature – trees, flowers, grass – grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and sun, how they move in silence. … The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can give in our active life. We need silence to be able to touch souls. The essential thing is not what we say, but what God says to us and through us. All our words will be useless unless they come from within – words which do not give the light of Christ increase the darkness.” – Saint Mother Teresa
“Modern society can no longer do without the dictatorship of noise. It lulls us in an illusion of cheap democracy while snatching our freedom away with the subtle violence of the devil, the father of lies. But Jesus repeated tells us: ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ (Jn 8:31-32) Interior silence is the end of judgments, passions, and desires. Once we have acquired interior silence, we can transport it with us into the world and pray everywhere. But just as interior asceticism cannot be obtained without concrete mortifications, it is absurd to speak about interior silence without exterior silence.” – Cardinal Sarah
“Let us be silent, that we may hear the whispers of the gods.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson