In the depth of silence

The monastery chapel in Marbury, AL

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross writes Learn to get in touch with the silence within yourself and know that everything in this life has a purpose.

Silence. One of the first things you notice about a monastery is the atmosphere of silence that permeates the whole of it. It isn't a dead silence, something sterile, empty and devoid of life. It is a silence full of richness. One can "feel" the presence of the Divine here, even when one don't know why. 

Many of us are afraid of silence, as though it could exercise some magical power over us. It does have power, the power to help one plumb the depths of one soul. Silence is the prerequisite for finding our treasure, the one right inside us but hidden and often forgotten because of the cacophony of noise that surrounds us.

The Gospel tells me that my treasure is hidden in a field (Mt 13:44), and that to have that treasure, I must sell all that I have to possess it. I need to give up my love for noise if I hope to find the treasure hidden within the emptiness of my heart. Perhaps that is the reason I fear and avoid silence…I don’t want to find that I am empty inside. And noise is a good smoke screen to keep me from realizing this.

Often, it is hard times and darkness that teaches me to be silent. When I am devoid of thoughts and feelings, I am faced with the emptiness within. If I sit before God with that emptiness, I find that in the darkness I am learning to discern God. And sitting in that darkness, waiting on God, I learn to listen and discern better and to open my heart to the presence of God. It is often the darkness that reveals the light, thought I rarely realize this until later.

Silence holds the key to many treasures. If you find it hard to sit with silence, visit a monastery where you can find the richness already established. Then, make for yourself a corner in your life where you can be still before God and listen. You will find emptiness, indeed. But if you stay with that stillness, learn to sit with it daily, you will also find the Divine within. And who knows what secrets he is waiting to share with you, and you alone.