An Elusive Comodity

City Light Haze

As I write this blog I am listening to Hillsong which is quite ironic since I want to talk about the potential place of silence in the process of spiritual formation. Our society is silence averse. There seems to be constant noise, some pleasant, some not so pleasant. At any time of the day or night we can easily find a plethora of things to listen to, certainly in the western world. Much as how we are light saturated even in the dead of night in our modern cities.Check out the photo!

Yet if we hark back to the Christian Fathers of old, as well as leading members of the modern mystic and contemplative movement, they would suggest silence is an integral part of spiritual life.

There are two distinct schools of thought although they are not mutually exclusive are both quite different.
Henri suggests:
"As long as hearts and and minds are with words of our own making, there is no space for the Word to enter deeply into our hearts and bear fruit. In and through silence the Word of God descends from mind into heart, where it can ruminate on it, masticate it, digest it, and let it become flesh and blood in us. This is the meaning of meditation Without silence the Word can not become our inner guide; without meditation it can not build its home in our hearts."

There is also another school that suggests that God is so infinite that mere words can explain describe or represent him. The only way to begin to come to terms with God is to allow him to to speak to you through the Spirit in the silence. This is an imageless and wordless form of prayer. Spending time in the silence, transcends the limitations of language, rational thought and human constructed categories.

These two styles would seem to be at odds which I don't necessarily think is completely true and may both have a place in the contemplative lifestyle. But that has yet to be proven for me. I can see the silence working so well in Lectio Divina.  I am getting so much from this discipline at the  moment. After I have done the initial meditation allowing myself to soak in that word for a longer time in silence makes sense. The second type is probably more problematic and I will not even attempt that this week but I am committed to following this through after a few weeks. It would seem to need to be at a very different time from what I am describing above. Otherwise I am not sure how it will work.

It is becoming more obvious that "less is more" and I must attempt less in my time. Maybe even getting rid of my traditional devotional books to allow God to speak. While I am filling my heart and spirit with the thoughts of another person through a devotional book, am I missing God? Well maybe not missing God, but not gaining all I could through a more personal relationship with the Trinity! I mean my devotions have worked okay for the last 25 years but maybe there is just more to be had!!!!

I will continue to refine my journey and keep you posted. I have had my first couple of tries and it is very positive so far!