WHAT IS SILENCE?
Recently, I came across a YouTube video (see below) where a hermit—allegedly “the last hermit of Ireland”—expounds about silence, saying:
“One can be in a country place with no noise at all and not
find silence. …In the last resort, it’s at the level of the heart, the
conscience, and the will. If that is troubled, if the conscience is not at
peace, one can do whatever one wants to with regard to physical silence, one
will not find it. One has to get in and fix it there where the problem is. Silence
is a deep affair. And if a person is troubled, especially by the conscience, he
can’t really free it. It has to be handled. …No
matter what’s going on outside, there is a certain deep peace anchored in the
serenity of God and of the whole universe.”
—Stephen McElligott, “What Is Silence? Conversations with the Last Hermit of Ireland,” YouTube video, 3:21 minutes, October 13, 2018
The habit identifies the speaker, Father David Jones, as a Carthusian.
Silence is a quality of the soul. It is acquired and deepened through
physical silence, but ultimately the source of genuinely satisfying
silence is grace, the gift for which we are best disposed to receive
through a dedicated life of prayer, in the most complete sense of the
word.
Father David Jones radiates silence and peace—ever conjoined in the spiritual life, they witness to the hidden life of Jesus Christ. It is very attractive.
Public domain photos
ReplyDeletePraying hands link:
https://pixabay.com/photos/praying-prayer-hands-pray-request-614374/
Carthusian at prayer link:
https://www.maxpixel.net/Religious-Monastic-Christianity-Christian-Religion-892682
Gonzalinho
Silence is an oasis of refreshment in the noise and tumult of the city.
ReplyDeleteGonzalinho