Rediscovering the Value of Silence

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)

Dear brothers and associated members,

We  all still remember that the General Chapter 2012  sent us  a  very beautiful message  concerning the foundation of our being religious.  It is  said that the fundamental reason of our being religious is our experience of God, and   therefore this experience needs to be renewed  constantly by a contemplative attitude in our life.  This attitude makes our common daily experiences places of experiencing God’s real presence. Furthermore  the message  stresses  out  that  to be able to develop our sensitivity for God’s presence we need to have  regular times of silence and solitude.  Let us now pause for a while to re-discover  the value of silence in our daily life as religious.

Our Challenge

In this “post-modern”  and “hurly-burly” world  the true silence, which is the inner stillness,  is becoming  a very luxurious  and costly.  Everywhere  people are  overwhelmed  with  the busy activities  and noisy  environment, and everybody  seems to be always on the move. When we are given  the opportunity to be silent,  many of us  look at it as a waste of time or consider it as  being un-productive. We are always tempted to fill  all our times with “doing something productive”  or “something  entertaining”.  Even when we  are expected to  be silent, for example when we  are doing retreat or recollection,  or being in the “sacred” places,  the temptations to fill the  time of silence with other things is there.  Do we recognize this kind of  situation in our religious community and in ourselves?

What is silence?

A story from the  East  tells us that  a great King went to visit his spiritual Master and said to him: “ Master,  you know I am a very busy man. Can you tell me how I can reach union  with God?”  The master said that the answer was only one word: “Silence”.  Then the King asked:   “But how can I attain silence?”. “Meditation,” said the Master. Then  again the King asked :”What do you mean by meditation?”. The Master replied:  ”Silence”

This above story is  saying that to experience God in  our daily living is practically impossible without  silence.  We may believe that God  is  always present in our day to day living, but without having time of silence  to reflect  and to ponder on it, most likely we will not be aware of it.  And if we are not aware of  His presence,  we will surely  not recognize it, and finally we  will not be able to experience the  presence of God in our life.

Silence can be either destructive or constructive. Destructive silence is refusing to speak when a word is called for, a word of consolation, of affection, of appreciation, or of  love. Destructive silence can also be passive aggression, a refusal to participate, a lack of care,  or a form of punishment.  Meanwhile a constructive silence is the silence of interior journey, the inner stillness which leads to  God.   A  constructive silence means going beyond words and thoughts.   God is limitless, meanwhile our words and thoughts are limited. When we want to talk about God  we realize that images, analogies, and words fall short. All words are inadequate to describe the nature of unlimited God. God is completely beyond words.  We never fully grasp who God is.   The only way of knowing Him is by “going beyond our mind and thought”  in silence.

The value of silence

 I personally believe that religious life is a spiritual journey and  a faith-based way of living. The quality of religious life is enhanced if only we continue to  develop our spiritual life and strengthen our faith. The appreciation and practice of silence is therefore  very necessary for our spiritual development.  Each of us as religious needs to cultivate this inner stillness to improve our sensitivity for God’s presence.  Silence nurtures us far more than we will ever understand. It becomes the primary way in which we grow in love: to love God and our neighbors.

Human silence is benefiting us in different ways. We use silence to think things through before taking action. In this way we are not overwhelmed by all that we have to do. We break down large, intimidating and time-consuming tasks into manageable segments. These periods then resemble stepping stones across a river. We give our attention to one stone at a time. In doing so we are on the other side of the river before we realize it.

Human silence can also be  a silence of solitude, but can also be communitarian. An individual person can cultivate silence by seeking environmental silence, or sacred space, or solitude, but above all by practice of silence, among others by avoiding unnecessary speech, creating personal space, allowing absorption in art and beauty, listening to soft music, acquiring  an inner stillness, and the practice of meditation.  Personal silence itself is not only oriented toward calm and tranquility, but ultimately toward interior silence, which is the silencing of the mind. This kind of silence is not an achievement but a grace.  True silence is ultimately prayer. It is the voice of the soul, of the human spirit, and of the Holy Spirit. 

Conclusion

Going back to the message of the General Chapter 2012, let us continue to strengthen our foundation of being religious by every now and then appreciating and practicing silence in our day to day living. This can be done individually or communally.  “ Maturing prayer life will need fewer and fewer words. More and more it will become just being in the presence of God through faith, hope and love. Increasingly, we will experience  God as being present in our common daily life, in everybody, in everything. Prayer life and daily  life gradually merge” (Const. art. 66).

On behalf of Guido, Raphael, and Theo,

Bro. Martinus Handoko

General Superior