Great Things are born in Silence
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
In 2018, the OFS Minister General’s Christmas Letter told us about silence, and how we often experience the noise and buzz of the world, which is far away from the silence of the stall of Bethlehem. Today, mid-January, Advent is long past, Christmas come and gone, and I am still longing for that silence which I experienced for only a short time on Christmas Day and in Christmas week. Seems to me we can have this spiritual silence more often with a measure of prayer, self-discipline, and patience.
As much as I sometimes crave people contact, one of the first things I did was set most of the email and Facebook notifications off. That very frequent ping, even though soft, breaks one’s concentration sufficiently to stop Spiritual thought. I check my Facebook often enough that I need no instant reminders. What I need more, is time for and with God. The 400-plus Spiritual Reflections I’ve written in the past 24 years came about in “quiet times,” times set aside for prayer and thought. These quiet times are also needed to remain focused on the Lord.
Some people are so used to activity that they are bereft without it. Silence doesn’t come natural to them. As an only child, living during a war (WWII) where other members in the household were too busy to pay me any attention, I was often alone from a young age on. I like silence, up to a point of course. Then I spent time in religious orders resulting in more silence, good silence for prayer and contemplation. And now, retired, I have more to do than I have time for, so I feel the call for silent time tugging on my sleeve. I spend time with Jesus, two, sometimes three hours per day, but I also spend a lot of time watching TV, doing website work on the computer, etc. Often, in the evening hours I yearn for silent time.
Thus, it was today, when the subject of silence and prayer got me out of my recliner and to my computer, to write about it. Luke 5:16, “he withdrew to the wilderness and prayed.”
Jesus withdrew to the wilderness – we withdraw to a quiet room, a work room. The room we usually use for quiet prayer or serious writing. Matthew 6:6, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” The silent practice of contemplative prayer guides us toward resting in the fullness of God and God's love. It is a peaceful practice that pulls us away from striving, fear, and defending boundaries. A disposition toward inner silence, could open the way for contemplative prayer. “Contemplative prayer is the simplest expression of the mystery of prayer. It is a gift, a grace; it can be accepted only in humility and poverty. Contemplative prayer is a covenant relationship established by God within our hearts. Contemplative prayer is a communion in which the Holy Trinity conforms man, the image of God, "to his likeness." CCC*§2713. This gift or grace if it comes at all, will come in total silence and in immense love.
It is time for Evening Prayer (Liturgy of the Hours), a wonderful practice with many Secular Franciscans. The prayer of the Church, shares with all members or clergy and most Franciscans. And after that I can lay myself to rest. Praise the Lord.
(* CCC – Catechism of the Catholic Church)
Fred Schaeffer, OFS
January 17, 2022, rev. July 2, 2026