![]() ![]() Then, during all our time of orison, the prayer of the heart will help us to remain humbly in the presence of God, in the depth of our heart. We can also whisper a nigun or a song in tongues, a kind of expression halfway between words and silence, because they stand beyond our reasoning and help us to descend into our heart. Then, we can enter into prayer with a verse of the Word (a psalm for instance) it is not the moment for meditation but for communion, hand in hand with the Lord. It is a good thing to start our time of orison gazing at the Virgin Mary, so we may welcome God’s visitation. Of course, silence is the most precious and the most difficult element to live out in orison. Not a reaction to the word of the other, but an answer in which the depth of heart is invested. If our silence is listening first, our word must first be anĪnswer. Our way of listening, our silence, our words, have to become humble and chaste, learning from the Virgin Mary. We have to receive this Word, not on a reasoning level, always ready to debate, to enter into arguments, very often to defend ourselves, but with the heart of a disciple who allows himself to be taught and shaped by the Word, in the likeness of the Virgin Mary who kept and meditated all those words andĮvents in her heart. Only then do we meditate and welcome the specific Word He has given us that day. We praise the Lord first, because He comes to meet us in his Word. In the Eucharist, after the Gospel has been proclaimed, the priest or the deacon says, « Let us praise the Word of God » and we answer « Praise to you, Lord Jesus ». So, silence enables us to listen, yet one has to listen to – to meet – another person beyond his words, listen to him more with the heart than with the head. Others will find it difficult to speak, because they are afraid to express themselves (to expose their nakedness) in front of others. A good silence is also a sign of autonomy and of respect for the other person, for what he is going through. Some will have a tendency to flee or to break silence, all the time, out of fear of finding themselves alone, face to face with themselves. 6, 4) they do not give enough room for real silences to listen and adore. ![]() Even our liturgies can go astray if, ignoring the commandment « Listen Israel » (Deut. It is not unusual for us to speak, even with beautiful words, in order not to listen to the other (for instance Lc.11, 27-28). To the depth of our heart in inner silence, to discern beyond our passions. Listening to the other, in order to give him all the space he requires. Listening to God in order to let him call, teach, lead and love. Silence, according to God, is not a lack of words, it is beyond words.Ī good silence is, first of all, a capacity to listen. Word and silence, in our human relationships and in our spiritual life as well, have to be purified and to support each other. Silence can break communion (in a couple for instance) as it can cause death. They can mean « unsaid things », they can mean unconcern, contempt, self-confinement, anger, closed fists. But then, such silences would be the fruit of a word which has been spoken, and would express a deep attention to one another. Two lovers, hand in hand, manifest their love to one another more through silence than with words. Likewise, silence can bring about communion in love, hand in hand with a sick or dying person silence is often an expression of communion and compassion, stronger than any word. ![]() It can become a lie, it can divide, condemn, destroy, kill. The human word is an instrument of communion in love it remains deeply wounded by the original sin. Through it, God’s love expresses itself, materializes, and gives itself. And the fruit of the Word of God is so good, ever so good (Gen.1). ![]() The Word creates, organises what was formless wasteland, the word gives life. In the beginning is the Word: God speaks and it is. ![]()
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