Silence Reflection by Fr. Kevin Stolt, IVE, MSE, PhL, University Chaplain -Winona
Silence: Speaking and being silent at the right time, neither talking when one should listen nor being silent when one should speak.
In times of crucial decisions and throughout His ministry, Jesus left the crowds and his disciples and went to a place alone to pray. This often led Him into the wilderness, where he found a place of silence. Today, we reflect on the virtue of silence, which Saint John Baptist de La Salle defines as, “Speaking and being silent at the right time, neither talking when one should listen nor being silent when one should speak.”
Silence allows a time for us to open our hearts in order to listen to God. Our founder wrote, We learn to speak to God only by listening to him, for to know how to speak to God and to converse with him can only come from God, who has his own language, which is special to him and which he shares only with his friends and confidants, to whom he gives
the happiness of frequently conversing with him (1). When we turn off the sound to all of the activities of the world, silence allows us to converse and learn from God.
Silence also allows us to learn how to speak well to others. Be convinced, wrote Saint John Baptist de La Salle, that it is in seclusion and in silence that you learn how to speak well. The more you enjoy seclusion and silence, the more you will be able to fulfill your ministry on behalf of your neighbor (2). Silence allows us to listen and learn from others, so that we too might be able to contribute in a positive way to their lives. It is a time of training, so that we may know the right time to speak.
The virtue of silence helps us to converse with God and to know how and when to converse with others.
Footnotes:
- St. John Baptist de la Salle, Meditations for Sundays and the Principal Feasts, 64.2.
- St. John Baptist de la Salle, Meditations for the Principal Feasts of the Year, 135.1
