Silence may be considered from various
points of view: as passive non-speaking, as an interior disposition of
recollection, as a combat against our inner thoughts. The emphasis in our Constitutions is on silence as restraint in speech, which often proves to be the better part of
communication and an effective means towards more truthful and humble living.
Silence can also be a powerful and indispensable act of
self-relinquishment, of letting go of myself, which opens me to God and to
others. Concretely, the practice of interior silence means that I let go of
the tapes that play in my head; the narratives, movies and fantasies that
preoccupy my mind. Silencing the inner racket is a great discipline of letting
go of what ties me up and distracts me from what I really love and believe in.
In the final analysis whether we really maintain silence
is not proven by the fewness of our words but by our ability to let go of ourselves. It makes possible a new openness to God and to
others.
Reflection by Father Dominic.