Meeting God in Silence

One of the most beautiful aspects of Lent in the monastery is the greater silence that is sought, both exteriorly and interiorly.  Perhaps it may seem like a restrictive practice (in that it takes self control at times), but the reality is quite the opposite. Here’s an excerpt from a recent address by our Holy Father on encountering God in silence. See the link below for the entire text – it’s worth the time to read!!

“ Augustine’s observation forever holds true: Verbo crescente, verba deficient -- “When the Word of God increases, the words of men fail” (cf. Sermon 288; 5: PL 38, 1307; Sermon 120,2: PL 38,677). The Gospels often present Jesus -- especially at times of crucial decisions -- withdrawing alone to a place set apart from the crowds and from his own disciples, in order to pray in the silence and to abide in his filial relationship with God. Silence is capable of excavating an interior space in our inmost depths so that God may abide there, so that his Word may remain in us, so that love for him may be rooted in our minds and in our hearts and animate our lives. The first way, then: to learn silence, [to learn] the openness to listening that opens us to the other, to the Word of God.” Pope Benedict XVI

http://www.zenit.org/article-34420?l=english