#Prayer in silence how to#
In Her tremendous wisdom, the Church teaches, “only when we humbly acknowledge that ‘we do not know how to pray as we ought,’ are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer.” ( CCC 2559). Let’s look at what the Church say about prayer. We are called to holiness– to be saints! Yet, without prayer, holiness is impossible. The truth is, we cannot exist (spiritually speaking) without a fruitful, solid, consistent prayer life. The greatest fruit of this silence, in my opinion, is prayer. You got that? The path to peace starts with silence! “The fruit of silence is prayer, the fruit of prayer is faith, the fruit of faith is love, the fruit of love is service and the fruit of service is peace.” – St. You’ve got nothing to lose and so much to gain.
But, don’t take my word for it, try it yourself. By eliminating such distractions you can dare to say, “speak, Lord, your servant is listening.” (1 Samuel 3:10)Īll of this is possible from the privacy of your own home or car. You will find these small sacrifices as a means to great strides in the spiritual life.
#Prayer in silence tv#
You may not be ready for a silent retreat, but you can turn off the radio, phone, or TV from time to time. I learned early in my formation that if the devil can’t keep you bad, he’ll keep you busy. If we remain in a state of constant distraction, we will be just that–distracted. Jesus, although tempted, defeated the power of the enemy, and upon His return from silence, prayer, and fasting, was bolder than before. Yet, He still retreated into the desert–into silence. Our Blessed Lord walked the earth during a time with far less distractions. In a world with so much noise and distraction, how can we listen for God’s voice?Ĭonstant stimulation can leave the spirit dull. This type of silence greatly benefits the soul. With Mary’s help, we too can bear crosses silently and cheerfully. There is a greater power upon doing it cheerfully! That is not weakness. There is a great power in bearing our crosses silently–in holding things within our hearts. Mary holds the mystery of her own suffering and her Son’s future suffering within the silence of her Immaculate Heart! Later at the foot of her Son’s cross, again, she remains silent. In fact, scripture says “his mother kept all these things in her heart.” Jesus responds, “did you not know that I must be in my fathers house?”Īgain, what is our Lady’s response to all of this? Silence. Mary says to Him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” In that same Gospel, Jesus goes missing for three days and Joseph and Our Lady find Him in the temple. Luke’s Gospel, Simeon says to our Lady, “…you yourself a sword will pierce.” In the biblical story of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple from St. Jesus, help us be more like You, especially in this regard. Perhaps the next time we are wronged unjustly, we will have the grace and strength to follow His example. He chose to respond with silence because the Truth needn’t be argued. Instead, He showed great self-control and restraint. Jesus didn’t show weakness when He remained silent. Reactions are almost always emotional, whereas responding takes thought. If we’re honest, that’s our pride, isn’t it? But, what can we learn from Jesus’ example? It’s so easy to immediately want to react when we are wronged unjustly. 27:12: “And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no answer.” Our Lord gives a beautiful example of this as he stood before Pilate in Matt.
On the first point, what do I mean when I say ‘different types of silence?’ Let’s take a look at three types of silence we should incorporate into our lives. Second, silence permits us to listen more and pray better. The primary reflections I would like to share are twofold.įirst, there are many different types of silence. As I’m coming to the conclusion of a much needed silent retreat, I can certainly attest that one can learn a great deal in the stillness of silence.
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