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6th December
Peter Damian Belisle, The Language of Silence: The Changing Face of Monastic Solitude (Darton, Longman and Todd, 2003), 21.
Image: still from Philip Gröning’s film, Into Great Silence (2005).
'Silence is the seedbed for spiritual growth and maturity wherein a person lays bare the heart, without pretence or deception. The monastic aim is to live all of life with a transparency exposing the heart to all, as the Gospel would have it. Monks and nuns learn to approach all reality in anticipation of an encounter with mystery. Silence allows that to happen, providing an awareness (mindfulness) of sacred presence. And silence nurtures vigilance and waiting for communion. Silence is a locus of surrender for a life of surrender. And in self-surrender, monastics embrace the world around them as an icon of love.
Because silence is a locus of surrender, it is a way to union and communion. We have only to think of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemani or on the gibbet of the cross to see the necessity for silence in spiritual growth. Silence is, thus, a monastic absolute. Monastics enter solitude to be united to all in silent communion. Far from being misanthropic escapes from the world, true monastic solitude and silence are precious gifts to the world and for the world.'
To read the unfolding narrative of each day's Advent Adventures with Silence short quotes in order, click the image of the blue tin mug.
To read the unfolding narrative of each day's Advent Adventures with Silence short quotes in order, click the image of the blue tin mug.
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