I have been reading a book called The Power of Silence by Cardinal Robert Sarah from the country of Guinea in West Africa, which is a predominantly Muslim country with very few Christians. It is the country where I served as a Peace Corps volunteer. Sarah writes near the beginning of the book: “Mankind must join a sort of resistance movement. What will become of our world if it does not look for intervals of silence? Interior rest and harmony can flow only from silence. Without it, life does not exist.” When we see a lot of resistance movements and unrest, with cities like Minneapolis and Chicago seeing terrible violence and destruction, with protestors taking over the city center of Seattle and declaring it a new country, what a radical idea it is to see silence as a resistance movement.
Later in the book, Sarah quotes Trappist monk Thomas Merton: “the inviolability of one’s spiritual sanctuary, the center of the soul, depends on secrecy. Secrecy is the intellectual complement of a pure intention. . . . Keep all good things secret even from yourself. If we would find God in the depths of our souls, we have to leave everybody else outside, including ourselves.” What might Merton mean by these words? Perhaps if we are intent on listening to our own voice and the voices of others, if we are intent on bombarding God with words and our own perspective in our own prayers, then we will not hear what God has to say to us, then we will not discern God’s true will for us in our lives? We live in a world today where we want to shout to our brothers and sisters what we believe and what our perspective is, but we don’t want to dialogue with our neighbor and hear his perspective.
I find it so interesting how the words of this book on silence pertains to what is going on in our world today. In the Middle Ages, a small population of monks had a great influence on society. We should stay loyal to God, loyal to the truth, loyal to the faith. With faith, hope, and persistence, we will make a difference in our world.
When asked why he is allowing huge numbers of people congregate together with no social distancing and little safety protocols, but at the same time not allowing churches or other religious organizations to meet in anything but a small group, Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City responded with these words: “When you see a nation, an entire nation simultaneously grappling with an extraordinary crisis seeded in 400 years of American racism, I’m sorry, that is not the same question as the understandably aggrieved store owner or the devout religious person who wants to go back to services.” He is making a big value judgment, isn’t he, saying that our faith is not important compared what is important to others. He is making a big mistake. He is devaluing the power of God and the power of faith.
When we held our first public Mass on the Saturday of Pentecost weekend since the stay-in-place order, one of my friends remarked how happy I looked. Indeed, I was happy! I was filled with joy to able to be back with all of you celebrating Mass. I saw a lot of very happy faces that day. The power of silence and the power of our faith - we are not to take it for granted.
Blessings to you - Father Lincoln
PS - you can download The Power of Silence by Cardinal Robert Sarah on the Formed website. It is a great book that encourage all of you to read.
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