“We Find God in the Silence”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
December 1, 2024
Gospel: Luke 21:25-28, 34-36
Before Mass, I was talking to a lady who just returned from Lourdes. I’ve been to Fatima several times but never to Lourdes. Before you enter the shrine area, the grotto, or the church itself, signs ask for silence and appropriate dress. Shorts are not allowed. If you are not silent, someone will come to remind you; if one reminder is not enough, they will ask you to leave. The silence is out of respect for Who dwells there. Exterior silence is essential for prayer. C.S. Lewis wrote “The Screw Tape Letters.” Screwtape was one of the senior devils, and he had a little devil who was trying to rise up the demonic ladder. This little devil said he was trying to think of innovative ways to get people away from God. Screwtape told him that they already had an excellent method called noise. Noise is very distracting. It takes you away from who you are talking to or who you are trying to listen to.
In the Mass, there are certain sections for reverential silence. Unfortunately, the Mass has developed into something where people are moving, singing and doing whatever. Someone said that those are supposed to be moments of meditation. No, they are not. Whoever said that did not go to a proper seminary. Meditation takes about 20 minutes, and there is a reason for that. Not only do we get the noise from outside that interferes with our concentration, but we also have silent, distracting noises in our hearts. So, no matter how quiet it is in church, except for now, while I’m speaking, the hamsters are going and going, aren’t they?
We all have difficulties, and we all think about these things we must do whirling around in our heads. Ideally, we leave all those things at the door. But we bring them into church and give them to our Lord. What happens when we have the stillness of the soul or as best we can? Remember, we are men, not angels. It is then we can hear God speak to us as He did to Elijah while he was in the cave. God was not in the storm. God was not in the earthquake. God was in the silence afterward. In the Garden of Gethsemane, our Lord asked the Apostles, “Can you not spare an hour to watch with Me?” He didn’t ask them to talk. He didn’t ask them to sing. He asked the Apostles to watch with Him. That is a huge part of prayer.
Last week, the hospice chaplain asked me if I would sit with a man who was actively dying. He had been actively dying for three days, so he was a little slow at it. I said, “Sure.” I have done that many times. Did I know him? No. Did I know his family? No. Did I know if he was a good man? No. What I did know is that he was a child of God. So, I sat with him and reminded him to breathe. He was trying to break the habit. But in that room, in that reverential silence, I knew God was either there to take him or would be coming soon. I prayed that he would have a merciful judgment and go joyfully to his loving God. God was in that room, and I was listening. That is a part of preparing for Advent.
People ask, “Father, are you ready for Christmas?” My response is, “I don’t mean to be sarcastic, but what difference does it make? It’s going to come whether I am ready or not.” It makes no difference. Christmas is coming. All these things we have to do are wonderful. However, the most important thing we have to do is our interior preparation, which makes all the exterior preparations worthwhile. All those gifts people give each other are expressions of God’s love. The love within them is the love of God expressed by giving to others. How much more expressive would they be if their souls were holier? Do yourself a favor this first week of Advent and read “The Gift of the Magi” by O. Henry.
How will you apply this message to your life? ________________________________________
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