Mary Duddy and husband Tom enjoy a quiet Waianae hike with their grandsons. (Courtesy photo)
THE MARRIED LIFE
Jesus came into the world in the silence of the night. And it is often in the silence that he speaks to us.
Many years ago, my brother Matt was searching for the truth. He had gone through several troublesome years, giving my mother cause for tears and prayers, like those of St. Monica. I prayed for Matt too.
At one point, Matt started meditating while staring at inanimate objects, like a bowl of fruit or a picture. The family thought it was odd. Then Matt complained that it was too ‘noisy’ in our house to meditate since there were nine siblings to keep quiet. My mother suggested he try meditating in a church.
My brother took mom up on her suggestion and found a small, quiet Catholic church where he could meditate. The first time he went to the church he sat there in silence. He says he became aware that he was not alone. He looked around. There was no one there. But he felt someone was with him.
Slowly he started to realize it must be Jesus in the tabernacle who was with him. This awareness took Matt completely by surprise, even though he had been raised in a Catholic family. He started going to the church more often and his heart began to change. Jesus was present to him in the silence.
Pope Francis said, “Very often nowadays we need silence. Silence is important. I am struck by a verse from the Book of Wisdom that was read with Christmas in mind, which says, ‘While gentle silence enveloped all things, your all-powerful word leaped from heaven.’ In the moment of mostly silence, God manifested himself. It is important to think about silence in this age in which it does not seem to have much value.”
In our current society, silence is often hard to find. Electronics, such as cell phones, iPads, computers, television, etc., crowd our days to the point that people feel lost without them. We have grown unaccustomed to silence.
Tom and I had an opportunity to have some silence over Christmas break when we joined our daughter’s family to go on a hike in Waianae. It was a beautiful day, and the hike was far from traffic or street noise. The only sounds we heard were the birds and the breeze. Then we heard sheep in the distance! The quiet was so peaceful, our minds could relax enough to really listen.
Taking a break from our schedules and activities to go on a hike in nature was refreshing. The boys could run and jump and pick up sticks. In my case, concentrating on taking the next step and not slipping or falling cleared my mind. It was good to get away from all the distractions and anxieties of life for a while and enjoy the peace and quiet.
Climbing the final steps to the top of a mountain peak, we could look down and see stunning views of the sloping hills with green pine trees and the blue ocean in the distance, blanketed by a sandy beach. Just gazing at God’s creation and thanking him for it, brought us closer to God who created it all.
Maybe this is a good resolution for 2023: to find a quiet place and spend more time seeking the Lord in silence.
