WHY DO WE FEEL UNCOMFORTABLE in silence? Why do we often choose noise and distraction over silence? Are we afraid to be alone with Jesus?
We all desire to experience peace in our world, our families and our own hearts. We live in a time when silence feels rare. Our devices, schedules and noisy culture pull us in many directions. For this reason, we often struggle to hear Jesus speaking in our hearts. The saints, from every age, experienced this struggle too. Yet, they show us that silence is the means for deepening our encounter with God. When we enter silence with courage, we discover that Jesus is already waiting for us.
St. Teresa of Avila experienced both dryness and distraction in prayer. She writes in “The Interior Castle” that God does His work in silence as He labors to build His temple within us. Moreover, she observes that it is under the condition of silence that the soul and God rejoice together. Her witness of embracing silence, even when prayer felt unproductive and difficult, encourages us to enter silence with the same confidence that we will meet God.
We see the transforming power of God in the soul of a modern saint who met God in silence, St. Charles de Foucauld. After years of searching for meaning in his life, he found that only silence before Jesus could
satisfy his restless heart. Silence taught him to become little before God, and it opened his soul to receive and surrender to grace. St. Charles de Foucauld’s well-known “Prayer of Abandonment” reflects the fruit of His prayer, sustained by silence and trust. Therefore, St. Charles could declare with great freedom, “Father, I abandon myself into Your hands; do with me what You will…I am ready for all, I accept all.”
His witness teaches us that silence is not passive, but a courageous act of vulnerability before God, in which we offer the gift of ourselves to the One who is always pouring Himself out in love to us. The silence of the saints is a place of study for all of us who desire to respond to our call to holiness. Their witness offers simple, practical ways we too can intentionally choose to cultivate silence in our lives. We do not need long hours or perfect conditions. Parents are burdened by demands from young children or multiple activities for older kids. Others face demanding jobs, caregiving duties or life circumstances beyond their control.
Still, each of us can make a small choice that opens a space for God within the real circumstances of our lives.
As we approach the Lord in Holy Communion, especially on the feast of Corpus Christi, let us ask Jesus to give us a greater love for silence. A few minutes of quiet each day, intentionally chosen by turning off our devices, sitting before the Blessed Sacrament, or in the quiet of our room, can open our hearts to the presence of God. Silence does not have to be a place of discomfort or fear. Over time, these small sacrificial acts of choosing silence over the temptation of distraction and noise help us grow in trust and attentiveness. Like the saints, we too will encounter Jesus who desires to free us from our anxious drive to perform and instead rest in Him. Silence becomes the safest place to be, where Jesus will teach us that we do not earn His love by giving a good performance. Instead, we are tutored by His abiding Presence, which simply invites us to be present to Him.
Only in silence will we encounter Jesus in the interior cell of our hearts, where, like the saints, we will learn to listen, surrender and trust the Lord as He reveals Himself in the intimacy of His love.