In the Stillness

Suzanne Beck offers suggestions for cultivating intentional silence and stillness in our lives, so that we may better connect with God.

My husband and I live a pretty quiet empty-nester life. The television is rarely on, if ever, as we both have separate hobbies that keep us busy after our work hours, and we enjoy each other’s company and conversation, so neither of us are big TV fans. We usually have pleasant instrumental music or hymns filling the house, but all in all, it’s rather quiet. (Of course, we both remember years when quiet was far from the norm with the hustle and bustle of six kids, but those days are in a past season.)

Even riding in our car is quiet. There’s just the two of us carrying on an occasional conversation with instrumental music in the background, or we might listen to a homily or podcast. Overall, even rides around town are peaceful.

This past summer we had an issue where the car air conditioning was on the fritz and, as you might guess, the needed part was backordered for several weeks. It was miserable, as it was a hot summer, but the most striking thing to me was the NOISE! Of course, we had to ride with our windows down, and I was astounded at the level of noise in the car; we seriously could not even carry on the simplest of conversations! You could hear:

the general hum of traffic,
the roar of semis and big trucks,
the loud stereo in an adjacent car where the driver thought that everyone should listen with him,
the loud muffler of the teen (or immature adult) who felt the need to show off his muscle car,
road construction equipment tearing up or fixing roads,
screeching of tires as someone almost missed the traffic signal,
sirens from fire trucks or other rescue vehicles, and
wind whipping through the windows, noisily cooling down the car.

All these and more, a total cacophony assaulted our ears on those trips. I knew that the car air conditioning was protecting us from the heat, but never realized how much we were protected from noise. By the time the air conditioning was fixed, fall was coming so it wasn’t needed as much, but we were very grateful to be back to the quiet!

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I remembered that C. S. Lewis describes how the devil uses noise to distract us from God; that he ensures our world is noisy so we can’t hear the voice of God, since God speaks in that "still, small voice." Lewis writes:

Music and silence—how I detest them both! ... [Hell] has been occupied by Noise—Noise, the grand dynamism, the audible expression of all that is exultant, ruthless, and virile—Noise which alone defends us from silly qualms, despairing scruples and impossible desires. We will make the whole universe a noise in the end…. The melodies and silences of Heaven will be shouted down in the end. (The Screwtape Letters, 119-120,)

Reflecting on that quote led me to consider how noisy our world is in general: TV, radio, YouTube, podcasts, sirens, traffic, construction, jets, machinery—and then there’s artificial white noise that many use to not hear all of those other noises.

If Satan can keep us from hearing God’s voice, then he has succeeded in his mission. We need to cultivate stillness in our lives if we want to hear the voice of God. As in 1 Kings 19, where God does not show up to Elijah in the noisy wind, earthquake or fire, God comes to us in a whisper, sometimes audible but most likely in the quietness of our minds. Hence, Mother Teresa believed that we need silence to find God, and He cannot be found in noise and restlessness; she said it was in the silence of the heart that God speaks.

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How can we put ourselves in places or even in the right frame of mind to receive the quiet, so we are able to hear God’s voice? #CatholicMom

Our lives are often so busy, fraught with activities and almost constant noise. How can we put ourselves in places or even in the right frame of mind to receive the quiet, so we are able to hear God’s voice? Here are a few suggestions that might help:

Spend time before the Blessed Sacrament in Adoration. Even a few minutes can quiet your heart. Perhaps you could make it a regular part of your week.
Turn off the many devices that are part of our everyday lives, even if only for a certain period. Spend time hearing nothing, enjoying the silence.
Go on a silent retreat; if that’s not feasible, simply spend a few quiet hours in nature, listening to the sounds God created.
Instead of your usual devotional/prayer time, just be silent. Maybe start with five minutes, intentionally saying, “Lord, I’m going to be silent so that I can hear you speak. Let me hear what you want me to hear,” or “Jesus, I give you permission to love me,” and then just be still and listen.

If you choose silence even for a small amount of time, you might be surprised at how comfortable it becomes and you might even be more surprised at who and what you hear.

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