Mission Monthly – March 2003
“When the door of the steam baths is continually left open, the heat inside rapidly escapes through it; likewise the soul, in its desire to say many things, dissipates its remembrance of God through the door of speech, even though everything it says may be good Timely silence, then, is precious, for it is nothing less than the mother of the wisest thoughts.”
St. Diadochos of Photiki, On Spiritual Knowledge
Ironically, I have had many conversations about silence. Truly, the Orthodox view of silence is very challenging to a society entrenched in the technology of communication. Communication and information. Information and communication. It is only getting worse and we are all being dragged more and more deeply into the vortex of its influence.
I remember my first Great Lent at St. Vladimir's Seminary. When the community gathered for its meals silence was practiced in the refectory, except for the reading of an assigned spiritual text. There was no talking. Being generally a quiet person I figured it would be easy since then I wouldn't “have” to talk to my neighbor. It's interesting how people react differently in freedom and when that freedom is taken away. I soon discovered that under these conditions even the question, “Would you please pass the salt?” can become a temptation. I soon discovered that my “general quietness” wasn't so quiet when my freedom to talk was taken away.
As the approaching season draws near I cannot emphasize enough how important it is for us to make plans for our lenten journey. I remember once hearing a rather simple piece of advice, “No one plans a trip without looking at a map, so too must we review the pathway to Pascha.” In my experience there has been a vast majority of people who are content to experience lent “as it comes.” In general I have seen this plan become a recipe for failure. Whatever one's level of discipline, advanced planning is wise and necessary. We should plan our meals, our prayers, our readings, our devotions and our charitable giving. We should decide what we are going to do with our televisions, our radios, our telephones, our computers and the internet, and our personal stereos. We should plan quiet family time. We should plan to extend hospitality in our homes to fellow members of the parish, especially those who are alone. We should plan to avoid parties, movies or other forms of idle entertainment. We should be preparing to attend every possible church service that is offered, preparing to make our confession, and preparing for Holy Communion – not only on Sunday morning but also at the profoundly important Pre-sanctified Liturgies held on Wednesday evenings. There is indeed much to consider so we cannot wait until lent is upon us to make our plans.
The saying, “Three things necessary for our salvation are prayer, fasting and charity” is similarly presented by Ilias the Presbyter who wrote in the 12th century, “The three most comprehensive virtues of the soul are prayer, silence and fasting.” Part of our planning for the lenten journey should include the necessary virtue of silence. What is it about silence that is so virtuous? When a man looks honestly at the noisiness of his soul the answer should become clear. Is it possible to have clarity about anything when we are noisy and restless, always in motion and distracted by the traffic of the mind and of the senses? The virtue of silence for those of us “in the world” is simply about slowing down and intentionally seeking some level of, as it is so keenly stated in the Troparion to St. Ignatius of Antioch, “divine contemplation through the practice of virtue.” Similar to how fasting is not just about food, so too silence is not just about not speaking. I've known of many homes where there is the sadness of unhealthy silence—the silence of walking on eggshells where no one is allowed to talk about the 300 pound gorilla in the middle of the room. This captivity of silence is not the Godly silence which allows a man to remain free and in unceasing communion with his Creator, even in the midst of the mostdisturbing of circumstances. In the most beautiful of ways, Godly silence will be the strength which crowds out the unrelenting attempts of sin and worldly care to drown out the yearning cries of our soul to live in the eternal embrace of the Divine Presence.
Literal silence, therefore, is presented to us as a necessary first line of defense, waking within us the reality of virtue lost through careless and idle conversation. Soon we will pray, “O Lord and Master of my life, take from me the spirit of sloth, despair, lust of power and idle talk” (from the Prayer of St. Ephraim the Syrian). May this lenten journey lead us to a meaningful discovery of the true meaning and wisdom of silence.