“I know many men and women who, in the middle of noisy streets and squares, find a way to encounter in their hearts a place where God speaks to them, a solitude that is very difficult to find in Tebaida!” – Ascetic letter.. to the president of one of the choirs of the Academy of Saint Michael. Barcelona 1862, p. 20
MEDITATION IN A NOISY ENVIRONMENT
We live in a world driven by speed and noise; in a world difficult to support, a world that impedes concentration in work or even to rest; in a world that appears to be galloping like a wild beast.
When and where can one find refuge, calm and tranquillity, joy and internal peace? It is precise, perhaps urgent, to look for time and place to enjoy a little bit of solitude, where God speaks to the heart, and we can meet with Him, away from all distractions, to express our deep feelings; to allow ourselves to be loved by He who loves us much; to taste and see how good the Lord is in this solitude without noise, in this island where with the eyes closed and ears blocked, we can create within ourselves to look at our Lord and God and encounter “the silent music, the tuneful solitude, the supper that recreates and loves”, says Saint John of the Cross.
We have to take note of these words of Benedict XVI in the apostolic exhortation “Verbum Domini”: “The great patristic tradition teaches us that the mysteries of Christ are united in silence and only in him can the Word encounter its dwelling in us, as it happened inseparably to Mary, the woman of Word and of silence” (n. 66).
It is in silence and meditation that we can deeply and clearly listen and meditate on the voice of God that talks to us in his Word of light and life.
