SILENCE
If
a jar of wine is left in place a long time, the wine in it becomes clear,
settled and fragrant.
But if it is moved about, the wine becomes turbid and
dull, tainted throughout by the lees.
So you, too, should stay in the same
place and you will find how greatly this benefits you.
—Evagrius Ponticus [1]
The Desert Fathers and Mothers had a word for it—hesychia. Silence. Stillness. In its most compelling metaphor it is a limpid body of water recollected in a state of tranquillity. In this state the soul is able to see itself as in an undisturbed reflection and to sense the touch of God when it alights upon the surface. In the silence of prayer the soul is a perfectly placid lake:
In autumn chill I sat at the edge of a deep blue lake.
It was placid
as the moon in solitary space.
Silently as
if stirred by the slightest briefest breath,
Perfect
circles in a series broke the surface, moving outward.
I watched the
widening whorl travel to the edge then bounce back.
Something—someone—had
touched the water.
Maybe it was
a bird dipping down...fish twitching its tail...
Dry leaf
riding a draught making a splash landing.
When the
waves had spent their energy, the lake becalmed again.
It shone
purely, a polished mirror of the sky: blue to blue.
I felt the
cold wet air rise but did not hear the wind swirl.
One hour
lapsed, the surface blankly serene, whispering along the marge.
If
you were to visit the New York Adirondacks in the chill after Labor Day, you
would find no visitors at the edge of the clear blue lakes, which manifest a
rich stillness. Gaze on the surface and you will see your image wavering ever
so slightly but unbroken. In this delicate equilibrium the undetected aspects
of the soul are discovered. Dip your finger in the water and you will view
ripples in serenely widening arcs across the surface, even to the distant margins.
Silence is this quality of the lake that is awakened by God's gentle touch and
just as at Bethesda (John 5:2-3), you would have to hasten to the water to
receive the grace offered to you.
 |
| Lake Holon, South Cotabato, Philippines |
God
is found in the sacrament of silence. The story of the revelation of God to
Elijah (1 Kings 19:11-13) is worth calling to mind:
“Then
the Lord said, ‘Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord
will be passing by.’ A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains and
crushing rocks before the Lord—but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind
there was an earthquake—but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the
earthquake there was fire—but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire
there was a tiny whispering sound. When he heard this, Elijah hid his face in
his cloak and went and stood at the entrance of the cave.”
In
silence we see our own soul and hear the voice of God, supernatural abilities
that are entirely beyond our natural powers.
There
is a famous story of an anonymous Desert Father who asks his two companions to
pour water into a basin and look at their reflection when it has stilled. “Thus
it is with the man who dwells with other men,” he says, “for by reason of the
disturbance caused by the affairs of the world he cannot see his sins; but if
he lives in the peace and quietness of the desert he is able to see God
clearly.” [2]
“We
need to find God and God cannot be found in noise and restlessness,” says
Mother Teresa of Calcutta.. God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees
and flowers and grass—grow in silence. See the stars, the moon and the sun, how
they move in silence. The more we receive in silent prayer, the more we can
give in our active life.” [3]
Silence
holds out to us the promise, in which we may place our confidence, of
participating in the mysterious life of God: “The fruit that silence brings is known
to him who has experienced it. In the early stages of our Carthusian life we
may find silence a burden; however, if we are faithful, there will gradually be
born within us of our silence itself something, that will draw us on to still greater
silence.” (Statutes 4.2)
Notes
[1]
The Philokalia: The Complete Text, Volume
1, translated by E. Kadloubovsky and G. E. H. Palmer (London: Faber and Faber,
1979), p. 35.
[2]
Bro Smith SGS, A Monk’s Topical Bible
Letters A-D, Book I, Volume 3 (USA: Revelation Insight Publishing Co., 2010),
p. 276, retrieved on March 4, 2017 from https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=62qNCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA276&lpg=PA276&dq=Thus+it+is+with+the+man+who+dwells+with+other+men,+for+by+reason+of+the+disturbance+caused+by+the+affairs+of+the+world+he+cannot+see+his+sins;+but+if+he+lives+in+the+peace+and+quietness+of+the+desert+he+is+able+to+see+God+clearly.&source=bl&ots=BRgi_N-9IY&sig=W3knh0EazOw-nuQHK7Cbnd_hrgw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjnnfLai77SAhUDNJQKHZ0YD-UQ6AEIGjAB#v=onepage&q=Thus%20it%20is%20with%20the%20man%20who%20dwells%20with%20other%20men%2C%20for%20by%20reason%20of%20the%20disturbance%20caused%20by%20the%20affairs%20of%20the%20world%20he%20cannot%20see%20his%20sins%3B%20but%20if%20he%20lives%20in%20the%20peace%20and%20quietness%20of%20the%20desert%20he%20is%20able%20to%20see%20God%20clearly.&f=false
[3]
Mother Teresa, The Joy in Loving: A Guide
to Daily Living, compiled by Jaya Chaliha and Edward Le Joly (New York: PENGUIN
COMPASS, 2000), p. 228.
A
longer version of this essay was originally published in Magis: Official Publication of the Magis Deo Community, Volume XV,
Number 11 (December 2003), page 3.
