Sacred Silence

When we were living directly in the shadow of Vatican II — let's say from the late 60's to the late 90's — there was a spirit of experimentation in liturgical circles that was both wonderful and chaotic. I have learned that chaos is not necessarily a bad thing; out of chaos comes something new: creation. But many people experienced a disconnection with the church. "With all of this change in the outer elements of the liturgical practice, where is my faith, where is my center?" some would ask. The recent General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) is guiding us back to some of the essential and consistently treasured qualities of the liturgical experience: transcendence, encounter with the sacred . . . silence.

The idea of silence is such a radical one. I was traveling recently and, instead of "setting up shop" in my hotel room for prayer (i.e. a candle, an icon, scripture, maybe some incense), I thought to myself, "maybe I will go out and about and find a quiet corner in the world to pray and just be." No dice. I walked around this specifically wonderful city, but could find NO PLACE to sit, to breathe, to pray, to be silent. It really was not possible. I gave up. I went back to the hotel after about an hour and a half, no worse for wear.

Well, actually by that point I was a little worse. I had given up on trying to pray. I was then so hungry that I would have eaten a prayer book! The call by Mother Church to return to a more measured and practiced silence in the liturgy is wise! She knows we need to pray, to be, to encounter the mighty God in the silence of our hearts. And yes, doing that communally is a beautiful thing! The psalmist writes, "It is good to sit in silence and wait for the saving power of God."

Steve Angrisano recently released a beautiful live recording, capturing moments of ministry happening "on the road." Listen and pray with his version of Sacred Silence. Let it lead you to a quiet place in your heart and then simply pray. Turn off your CD player, your TV and your mind and simply breathe. Know that you are God's beloved.

Be radical! Sit in silence in your daily life and, if you are involved in liturgical ministry, allow moments of silence in divine worship as well. In my opinion, it is not about being quiet in church, it is allowing and encouraging an infused and graced silence. We know that heaven is with us and maybe by "being" we will hear the song of the angels or the voice of the holy in the quiet and beating of our heart and in the rhythm of our own breathing.