Advent Day 4, December 4, 2024
Lo, in the silent night
A child to God is born
And all is brought again
That ere was lost or lorn.
Could but thy soul, O man,
Become a silent night!
God would be born in thee
And set all things aright.
Whoever wrote this 15th century verse knew a truth about the gift of silence, something we’ve very much lost interest in. If we aren’t listening to the news, then we’re scrolling through our phones, reading headlines, or getting entangled in the fear and ugliness on social media. We cannot grow in unity, we cannot wait with peace, we cannot become more compassionate people when we allow ourselves to be filled with frenzy, anxiety, dooms-daying, and fear-mongering. To borrow from Shakespeare, so much of what we hear is little more than “tale(s) told by an idiot/ Full of sound and fury/ Signifying nothing.”— Macbeth (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 27-28). Yet we feed ourselves with noise.
If ever we needed quiet, it is now. If ever we needed our souls to mimic a “silent night,” it is now.
Outside this small space of time on this blog page, a black pickup truck just slowly circled by my house, its engines revved and roaring. Perhaps the noise makes the driver feel noticed, powerful, envied, but truly noise has no meaning. Has listening to the noise ever made any of us kinder? More patient? More understanding? More loving? More reassured?
One of my most revered spiritual guides is the contemplative priest and writer Fr. Richard Rohr who strongly recommends that we take a break from the news this winter season. Just turn it off. Walk away. Don’t give it power over you. If it’s important enough, the news will come to you. Trust me. Instead of news, take a walk. Sit in the shimmer of a candle. Savor your first cup of coffee or tea. Watch the birds. Pay attention to all the mystery and magic of this current moment.
“Come away with me. Let us go alone to a quiet place and rest for a while” (John 6:31). This invitation from Christ is for all who would like “to help set things right” instead of becoming the noise themselves. As we wait for the coming of the Light, let’s go somewhere quiet and rest in the silence.
Blessings ~ Rosemary
Snow Solitude
Walking down the road in the year’s first snow
I hear nothing, no children sledding
or throwing snowballs, I see no
evidence of snowmen, no long troughs
marring winter’s blanket.
A lone bicycle, frosted white, leans
against a red brick wall. Snow rests in arcs
within an empty black tire swing.
Branches of pine sweep the ground
under their pristine weight
while red holly berries peek
through frosted ice. Not even
a single bird whispers a song.
In this still frozen moment,
against a palette of cold gray sky,
nature paints naked tree limbs
in layers of white. Even the wind
holds its breath.
I am alone
alone in the midst of this sacred
space, reluctant to move for fear
of my footstep breaking
the silence.
(c) Rosemary McMahan
Photo: (c) Rosemary McMahan
Spirit Reflections 