From the Friars: Let Us Seek Silence

In today’s gospel, Jesus manifests the glory of his divinity to three of his apostles, and in dialogue with Moses and Elijah, reveals that he is the promised and expected Messiah. This passage ends with a declaration and a mandate from the Father: “This is my beloved Son: listen to him.”

This command to listen to the beloved Son is also an exhortation to “pray always“, because it is in prayer that we listen to God. Often, we think that prayer is a monologue where I speak and God listens. However, this is not the case, prayer is a dialogue where we both speak and listen. But silence is necessary to listen to God. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said “God speaks in the silence of the Heart and listening is the beginning of prayer.”

Sadly we live in a society full of noise. Television, the internet, mobile phones, music and videos have made many of us, so to speak, addicted to noise. It is common to find people who find it impossible to be alone in silence, because they have become attached to the racket of our society.

Jesus took with him Peter, James and John and led them alone up a high mountain to pray. There in the silence the voice of God was heard. What is the mountain we must climb to find silence? Perhaps our mountain is fasting from all the noise that is part of our daily lives, disconnecting from screens, social networks and music to be able to pray and hear the voice of God. Mother Teresa of Calcutta also wrote: “The silence of the tongue helps us to speak with God, silence of the eyes, to see God, and the silence of the heart, like that of the Virgin, to keep everything in our hearts.”

May Our Lady of the Holy Rosary educate us in the path of her silence, to listen to the voice of her beloved son, during Lent, and for the rest of our lives.

— Br. Juan Diego