February 24th

My brother, Jimmy, was a senior at the University of Notre Dame when our dad discovered that he was skydiving in his spare time. Generally a kind and considerate parent, Dad called Jimmy and asked what it was that he enjoyed so much about jumping out of airplanes. “It’s so quiet, Dad.” Our father sat very still for a moment (I assume imagining his son in free-fall), then said, “So is the library, son, so is the library.”
 
Perhaps there is a genetic attraction to quiet for I too seek it out - not by skydiving, rather by turning off the radio in the car, walking at Radnor Lake or going on silent retreats. For me, silence helps me connect with a spiritual dimension within myself.  Wasn’t it John of the Cross who wrote, “Silence is God’s first language” - and Thomas Keating who added, “Everything else is a bad translation”? In the silence, I connect to a Mystery that dwells deep within me and all around me. 
 
In the noisy world in which we live, I find it feels healthy and holy to quiet my self, to listen in silence. This practice is a means of kenosis - of emptying my small self to make room for an inpouring of grace, a means of connecting to a larger awareness of Self. May we all find ways to listen for God in silence - at the altitude of our choice.