Quoting Silence, August 2022:
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A post throughout each week of the month, offering quotes and resources linked to one contemporary author who writes about silence and its role as a spiritual discipline. |
In this series, some posts use short quotations but offer links to associated resources in the text below the image-backed quote. In other weeks, the short, image-backed quote are taken from a more extensive quotation from the month's author, given below the image. And in the last week of the month there are questions to encourage reflection on the month's quotations.
Quotes for each week of August will appear below in ascending date order.
Quotes for each week of August will appear below in ascending date order.
Benignus O'Rourke (1929-2019), our author for August, was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1956 but spent 25 years as an English teacher at Austin Friars School, Carlisle. In the early 1980s he joined the Augustinian community at St Mary's, Harbourne, in Birmingham, where he became the parish priest. O'Rourke's love of Augustine resulted in a new translation of the Confessions, which was published when he was 84!
Monday 1st August, 2022
Benignus O'Rourke, Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer
(Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 19.
Images: Henrique Setim, Sau Paulo, Brazil, unsplash.com/@henriquesetim
This short image-backed quote is taken from Benignus O'Rourke's book, Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer (Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 19. You can read about this book here.
Fr. Patrick Benignus O'Rourke, OSA (1929-2019) was ordained as a Roman Catholic priest in 1956. For the next 25 years he worked as an English teacher and later as the headmaster at Austin Friars School in Carlisle. In the 1980s he joined the Augustinian Community at St Mary's, Harbourne, in Birmingham, UK, as their parish priest before moving in 1997 to take on the same role at Clare Priory, Suffolk, one of the oldest religious houses in England. Ben O'Rourke was much-loved as a gentle and wise man of prayer and known to be 'a tender counsellor of bruised souls'. Even after having moved to live in a care-home, when his Parkinson's Disease made it too difficult for him to live independently, Ben continued to have 'a ministry of phone and emails'. All his profound learning from years of encountering God in silence are offered back to us, the reader, in the 64 mini-chapters of Finding Your Hidden Treasure, which I often suggest to people as a great place to start to deepen their understanding about a practice of silence-based prayer. To read a couple of sample chapters, see here. In his funeral eulogy, from September 2019, a former pupil, whom he encouraged to be a priest wrote of this book, 'He doesn't teach you any set way to pray, no set place or time, no set words or prayers - but I open it and within a page, I put the book down: a line has inspired me to be silent in God's silence.' Its foreword was written by his great friend and fellow Augustinian, Martin Laird, our author for May, who suggests, 'If you are looking for a book that is eloquent in its simplicity, perceptive in the issues addressed, and will bring comfort in the presence of a God closer to us than we are to ourselves, Finding Your Hidden Treasure is a sure-footed guide. Those of us drawn to silent prayer will feel very much in debt to Benignus O'Rourke for producing this fine volume.' Throughout his life, O'Rourke was inspired by St Augustine's Confessions and in his mid-80s published a new translation of these (Darton, Longman and Todd, 2013), which you can read about here. An earlier book in which O'Rourke compiled writings and prayers from Augustine, Return to Your Heart: Thoughts from St. Augustine (publisher and date unknown), is now difficult to locate but can be purchased through the Augustinians, here. They also sell copies of O'ROurke's translation of Mark's Gospel, A Man Called Jesus (publisher and date unknown), which was still with printers at the time of his death. See here. beyond these sketchy details of O'ROurke's life, it is difficult to find out much about him. But another flavour of his pastoral and priestly ministry is found here in a short article, 'My atheist family was appalled when I converted to Catholicism - but it's given me great peace', by the well-known Guardian journalist, Adrian Chiles.
Monday 8th August 2022
Benignus O'Rourke, Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer
(Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 29.
(Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 29.
Image: Jonathan Pielmayer, Germany, unsplah.com/@jonathanpielmayer
This short image-backed quote, above, is taken from the longer quote, below, which is found in Benignus O'Rourke's Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer (Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 23, 26 and 29. You can read more about this book by clicking here.
'When Augustine writes his life story, in his Confessions, we read of a soul’s struggle to be itself. We see how his inner life, at every step, was linked with his very deep need for God. ... Augustine always sees the spiritual journey not as a going out, to find God outside, but as a journey inwards. Which is why Augustine urges us, “Wheresoever you are, wheresoever you may be praying, he who hears you is within you, hidden within.” ... If we are prepared to sit in silence and journey to the still centre of our being we shall discover that we have everything within us for our spiritual journey, and there are blessings at each step along the way. What we find on the journey will be different for each one of us. The journey may look the same, but each one’s story is unique. We each find our own truth and treasure. ... Augustine’s great discovery that within each one of us, in the depths of our hearts, lies hidden treasure changed his life and it can change ours. “How much treasure we have within us”, he declares, “but we do not dig for it!” Most of us, of course, could reply that we do not know, perhaps have never been shown, where or how to start looking for it.'
'When Augustine writes his life story, in his Confessions, we read of a soul’s struggle to be itself. We see how his inner life, at every step, was linked with his very deep need for God. ... Augustine always sees the spiritual journey not as a going out, to find God outside, but as a journey inwards. Which is why Augustine urges us, “Wheresoever you are, wheresoever you may be praying, he who hears you is within you, hidden within.” ... If we are prepared to sit in silence and journey to the still centre of our being we shall discover that we have everything within us for our spiritual journey, and there are blessings at each step along the way. What we find on the journey will be different for each one of us. The journey may look the same, but each one’s story is unique. We each find our own truth and treasure. ... Augustine’s great discovery that within each one of us, in the depths of our hearts, lies hidden treasure changed his life and it can change ours. “How much treasure we have within us”, he declares, “but we do not dig for it!” Most of us, of course, could reply that we do not know, perhaps have never been shown, where or how to start looking for it.'
Monday 15th August 2022
Benignus O'Rourke, Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer
(Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 49.
(Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 49.
Image: Matt Nelson, Austin, Texas, USA, unsplash.com/mnelson
This short image-backed quote, above, is taken from the longer quote, below, which is found in Benignus O'Rourke's Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer (Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 49-50. You can read more about this book by clicking here.
'In our journey into silence we are not left on our own. What we are invited to do is to find a quiet place and set aside some time. To find a quiet place where we can rest and allow the Lord to gather us into his peace we do not have to look far. That place is ourselves, but we have never been shown how to find it. "Leave behind all noise and confusion", Augustine counsels. "Look within yourself and see whether there be some sweet hidden place within where you can be free from noise and argument, where you need not be carrying on disputes, and planning to have your own stubborn way." …
To reach the quiet oasis of solitude within we first have to try to bring our body, mind and spirit into a state of quietness. But the more we try to bring our mind to inner quiet the more it seems to rebel. In a little poem of four lines, “The Balloon of the Mind”, W. B. Yeats [1865-1939] likens the mind to a balloon that is tossed around by the wind, and imagines his hand bringing it under control:
Hands, do what you’re bid!
Bring the balloon of the mind
That bellies and drags in the wind
Into its narrow shed.
Fortunately, there are techniques that will help us: sit still; sit straight; breathe slowly, deeply and naturally; hands on our lap; our feet firmly planted on the ground; sit alert, relaxed and receptive. We do not do anything except watch our breathing. … Whenever we find we have wandered, gently come back to the centre, to where Christ is, in the centre of our heart. And we keep doing this no matter how many times the mind bobs about in any wind that blows. No matter how often we have to drag the mind back to its narrow shed, we do not get bothered or give up. We rest and leave everything in God’s hands.'
Monday 22nd August 2022
Benignus O'Rourke, Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer
(Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 56.
(Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 56.
Image: Marc Schulte, Germany, instagram.com/mcs__pictures/
This short image-backed quote, above, is taken from the longer quote, below, which is found in Benignus O'Rourke's Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer (Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 56-57. You can read more about this book by clicking here.
'Our prayer of silence takes us down to that stillness at the centre of our being, to that innermost self where there is always peace. When we become more quiet we find the peace that is hidden in the depths of our being, but is submerged under the agitation of everyday life. It is a long way from the surface of our lives, a long road from the troubled mind to the place of peace in the centre of our being, “The longest road”, wrote Dag Hammarskjöld, “is the journey inward. Between you and [there] lie care, uncertainty, doubt.”
To reach the place where Christ awaits us we need to be prepared for long periods of silence and quiet, long enough for our doubts to dissolve, our cares to lose their urgent pressures, our uncertainty to give way to trust. To wait in silence for as long as it takes is to be taken eventually to the still centre where we find that the mind has become quiet and the heart is at peace. And, in the stillness, we find God.'
'Our prayer of silence takes us down to that stillness at the centre of our being, to that innermost self where there is always peace. When we become more quiet we find the peace that is hidden in the depths of our being, but is submerged under the agitation of everyday life. It is a long way from the surface of our lives, a long road from the troubled mind to the place of peace in the centre of our being, “The longest road”, wrote Dag Hammarskjöld, “is the journey inward. Between you and [there] lie care, uncertainty, doubt.”
To reach the place where Christ awaits us we need to be prepared for long periods of silence and quiet, long enough for our doubts to dissolve, our cares to lose their urgent pressures, our uncertainty to give way to trust. To wait in silence for as long as it takes is to be taken eventually to the still centre where we find that the mind has become quiet and the heart is at peace. And, in the stillness, we find God.'
Monday 29th August 2022
Benignus O'Rourke, Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer
(Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 64.
(Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 64.
Image: Rui Silva SJ, Portugal, instagram.com/ruisilvasj
This short image-backed quote, above, is taken from Benignus O'Rourke's Finding Your Hidden Treasure: The Way of Silent Prayer (Darton, Longman and Todd, 2010), 64. You can read more about this book by clicking here.
The last week of each month in the 'Quoting Silence: A month with ...' series offers some questions to help you reflect further on the month's quotations and images, and how they resonate with your own spiritual journey and relationship with God.
Before reflecting on this month's quotes and images, take time to re-ground yourself in your body.
Perhaps take a few slow breaths, feel your feet on the floor and be aware of how your body feels in this moment.
1) Read back over the this month's quotes and spend time looking at their associated images. As you do so, note a phrase or image that draws your attention. If this is a phrase, you might like to write this out in a journal or on a piece of paper where you will see it regularly. Consider reading aloud several times what you have written to help the words sink more deeply into your heart. If an image resonates with you, let your gaze rest lightly on it for a couple of minutes, allowing it to speak to your heart. Consider using it as a screensaver for a while, or perhaps print it out and place it somewhere that you will see it often..
2) What emerges as you sit with the phrase or image that attracted your attention? Does a new insight or a question, emotion or sensation arise? Take some time to write down and ponder on whatever you notice.
3) Where can you see hope in the midst of what is emerging in you, for yourself, your neighbour, your community, or the planet? How might this impact your daily life and those with whom you share it?
4) In the days and weeks to come, how can you stay open to what you have discovered from your reflections?
Take some time to give thanks for the hope that you have found in this month's quotes and images.