The Sound of Silence

I attended the White House Silent Retreat this past weekend and was asked to share a testimony with the men after our Sunday lunch.

The Sound of Silence

Though this weekend is my first time attending the White House silent retreat, it is not my first silent retreat, although it has been a long time, as the last time I made a silent retreat was when I was in the Seminary back in the early 1980s. And I guess the Holy Spirit has prompted me to come up and share with you my experience by having me be asked, as a first-time attendee, to share my thoughts about why I came and what I experienced.

I was recently ordained a Deacon a little over a year ago, and one of the joys of being a Deacon is the ability to be able to give homilies. Well recently, a few months ago, I received an anonymous letter in the mail from a parishioner who was not happy with one of my homilies. It was extremely critical and had no constructive comments. I shared the letter with my Spiritual Director, and he told me the letter was not written with a Spirit of Charity, but rather with an evil spirit if malice. He said this is how the evil one works to destroy those who are trying to do good, by attacking them, and to not let the letter get to me. In fact, he said, this is a sign that you are doing exactly what you are called to do if you are being attacked, and to keep up the good work.

Initially I did not think the letter had any affect on me, but as it turned out I struggled with writing my next two homilies. I spoke about it with my Spiritual Director this past Thursday just before coming down for the retreat. He said that I was deeply hurt by the letter and that I needed to find healing. We agreed the silent retreat would be a great time for me to find that healing and regain the confidence I need in doing what God has called me to do. And so, that was my goal for this weekend.

Being here and listening to Fr. Dan share the Gospel stories in such an amazing way, with imaginative creativity, was exactly what I needed to find my own inspiration. Taking time to be in silence is what I needed to find the strength to overcome the hurt and find healing. In fact, Saturday evening at dinner I was struck with this sharp pain in my let shoulder that came out of nowhere. It hurt every time I moved my arm and would not go away. The pain continued through out the night and this morning I work up still in a lot of pain. Then at Mass I noticed the pain was completely gone. I took it as a sign, a message from the Holy Spirit, that I had been healed of my hurt because I was willing to silence my heart and listen to His word. And as I journaled this weekend, I slowly wrote this reflection I would like to share with you. I started it on Thursday evening when we were asked to silence our hearts and finished it this morning.

We don’t just listen with our ears; we must also listen with our hearts and our imagination. To do so, we must quiet ourselves to hear the “sound of silence.”

Cayotes howling Ducks quacking Geese honking Owl hooting and whoing Sun rising and moon setting Birds and crickets chirping Ants working and spiders spinning Squirls scattering and gathering Leaves rustling Acorns falling Hawks screaming Bees buzzing Butterflies fluttering Trains whistling River flowing Fountains splashing Woodpecker knocking Flies swarming Wind blowing Grass waving Bells ringing Men praying God speaking Hearts listening Lives changing

As we return back to the noise of our every day lives, be sure to make time to listen to God in the sounds of silence. Be it dishes clashing in the kitchen, children outside playing, or coworkers working, let us quiet our hearts to hear what God might be saying to us in the sounds of silence.