St John of the Cross is credited with saying “the first language of God is Silence.”, Silence is a difficult language to learn, even harder to learn than Latin or Welsh. When live in a world that is filled with noise and distraction, from the moment we wake up to the time we retire at night, we are bombarded with a variety pings, car horns and all kinds of noise that can distract us from learning this sacred language. Over the last 38 hours, Our Lord has been that tutor of silence enthroned above the tabernacle providing us with that one on one session in silence.
There are many examples of these lessons from scripture about God speaking in Silence. Most notably in the Old Testament is where Elijah encounters God not in the noise of the Wind, in the roar of a fire or in the crashing of an earthquake but in the silent peace that followed. In that silence, God speaks to the prophet and gives him the strength to do his duties. Like Elijah, may we encounter the Lord here in this silent church and ask for the strength to live as a Catholic in Cardiff.
How does one remain silent in his presence? Like a great teacher Our Lord uses visible signs to help us learn. Take the lighted candles that adorn the High Altar and that are placed around the church; they are all elements of prayer and these prayers are carried out in silence. They need something to make them act, the ignition of a match to start the fire, so is it with us and prayer. We need to react to God’s grace to come to him in silent prayer and what better stimulus than being here in front of Our Lord exposed in the Monstrance. We are not here for ourselves; we are here to give adoration to Christ present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the host. The Monstrance isn’t made shiny so you can see your reflection in it. It shines with the radiant love of God for each and every one of us.
The greatest way to learn the language of silence is imitation. As the forty hours end today, the lessons do not stop, every day Our Lord is calling us to come spend time with him in silent prayer. There is Adoration every weekday morning from Nine until Mass and the church is also open for private prayer during the day also. Like my seminary classes and most university studies at the moment many take place on zoom or skype, meaning that we are able to learn from our own rooms. May those of us who cannot come to spend time with Our Lord here in this church, place themselves in the presence of God in their homes and take on that spiritual homework of learning the language of Silence. Let us not make this time of adoration a one off, but the start of something new, that we may become fluent in silence. “For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him.” (Psalm 62:5)
Br. Illtyd. M