In the Footsteps of Popes
Things My Father Taught Me
July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
In the Footsteps of Popes
Mary [email protected]
Retreatants engage in time-honored papal practice
“It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I am the more affection I have for them…. Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers for what they are, not for what they say.” Thomas Merton
A number of years ago, Father Eugene Hemrick, a Catholic News Service columnist, wrote an instructive column about the value of the silent retreat.
In his piece he stressed that, “unlike any other therapeutic means available today, silent retreats create a sacred, meditative atmosphere that is perfect for knowing God better, coming to grips with ourselves and, for some mysterious reason, opening us up to others, especially close loved ones.”
He notes the awesome power of silence, which is better appreciated with an understanding of the word’s root meaning. “’Silence,” he says, “comes from the Latin word ’silens,’ meaning stillness. Stillness, the renowned theologian Father Romano Guardini told us, ‘is the tranquility of the inner life; the quiet at the depths of its hidden streams. It is a collected, total presence, a being `all there,’ receptive, alert, ready.... It is when the soul abandons the restlessness of purposeful activity.’’
I imagine Father Hemrick was delighted when he read Pope Benedict XVI’s 2012 message for the 46th World Communications Day which stressed the importance of silence in our relationships with God and each other.
Silence, shared the pope, “is an integral element of communication; in its absence, words rich in content cannot exist. In silence, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; ideas come to birth and acquire depth; we understand with greater clarity what it is we want to say and what we expect from others; and we choose how to express ourselves.
“By remaining silent we allow the other person to speak, to express him or herself; and we avoid being tied simply to our own words and ideas without them being adequately tested. In this way, space is created for mutual listening, and deeper human relationships become possible.”
In then reminding us that God’s love speaks in the silence of the Cross, Pope Benedict offered, “If God speaks to us even in silence, we in turn discover in silence the possibility of speaking with God and about God.” Sharing his own thoughts from a 2006 homily, he added, “We need that silence which becomes contemplation, which introduces us into God’s silence and brings us to the point where the Word, the redeeming Word, is born.
“In speaking of God’s grandeur, our language will always prove inadequate and must make space for silent contemplation. … Silent contemplation immerses us in the source of that Love who directs us towards our neighbours so that we may feel their suffering and offer them the light of Christ, his message of life and his saving gift of the fullness of love.”
Saints and the holy men and women of God have long taught of the value of silence and stillness in our prayer life, and have recommended time away from the frantic pace of life, which seems to have existed in relative form in every generation, as a means of refocusing our lives on God.
In fact, an annual Lenten retreat has been a papal tradition for more than 80 years; something for ordinary folk like me to consider – if the popes, whose lives from sunup to sunset are focused on God, found such value in a retreat, it could only be good to follow in their footsteps.
The annual papal retreat was first instituted by Pope Pius XI in the 1920s. Soon after, he issued an encyclical promoting spiritual exercises for the entire Church, saying that “the most grave disease” of the modern age is lack of spiritual reflection.
Of course, it is unlikely that any of us will ever have the chance to “retreat” on the grounds of Castle Gandolfo, Italy, which has served as a papal retreat since the 17th century, but we are richly blessed by the number and uniqueness of retreat houses within the diocese, all offering a variety of retreat experiences to meet a variety of needs.
And if we fall back on the excuse that we just don’t have the time (which is a strong indicator that a retreat is needed!) we are reminded by the well-loved Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, of a place nearby which can serve as a time away, however brief, to sit and pray in the presence of God: “Let there always be quiet, dark churches in which man can take refuge. Places where they can kneel in silence. Houses of God filled with His silent presence.”
Mary Morrell serves as managing editor of The Monitor.
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Retreatants engage in time-honored papal practice
“It is in deep solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more solitary I am the more affection I have for them…. Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers for what they are, not for what they say.” Thomas Merton
A number of years ago, Father Eugene Hemrick, a Catholic News Service columnist, wrote an instructive column about the value of the silent retreat.
In his piece he stressed that, “unlike any other therapeutic means available today, silent retreats create a sacred, meditative atmosphere that is perfect for knowing God better, coming to grips with ourselves and, for some mysterious reason, opening us up to others, especially close loved ones.”
He notes the awesome power of silence, which is better appreciated with an understanding of the word’s root meaning. “’Silence,” he says, “comes from the Latin word ’silens,’ meaning stillness. Stillness, the renowned theologian Father Romano Guardini told us, ‘is the tranquility of the inner life; the quiet at the depths of its hidden streams. It is a collected, total presence, a being `all there,’ receptive, alert, ready.... It is when the soul abandons the restlessness of purposeful activity.’’
I imagine Father Hemrick was delighted when he read Pope Benedict XVI’s 2012 message for the 46th World Communications Day which stressed the importance of silence in our relationships with God and each other.
Silence, shared the pope, “is an integral element of communication; in its absence, words rich in content cannot exist. In silence, we are better able to listen to and understand ourselves; ideas come to birth and acquire depth; we understand with greater clarity what it is we want to say and what we expect from others; and we choose how to express ourselves.
“By remaining silent we allow the other person to speak, to express him or herself; and we avoid being tied simply to our own words and ideas without them being adequately tested. In this way, space is created for mutual listening, and deeper human relationships become possible.”
In then reminding us that God’s love speaks in the silence of the Cross, Pope Benedict offered, “If God speaks to us even in silence, we in turn discover in silence the possibility of speaking with God and about God.” Sharing his own thoughts from a 2006 homily, he added, “We need that silence which becomes contemplation, which introduces us into God’s silence and brings us to the point where the Word, the redeeming Word, is born.
“In speaking of God’s grandeur, our language will always prove inadequate and must make space for silent contemplation. … Silent contemplation immerses us in the source of that Love who directs us towards our neighbours so that we may feel their suffering and offer them the light of Christ, his message of life and his saving gift of the fullness of love.”
Saints and the holy men and women of God have long taught of the value of silence and stillness in our prayer life, and have recommended time away from the frantic pace of life, which seems to have existed in relative form in every generation, as a means of refocusing our lives on God.
In fact, an annual Lenten retreat has been a papal tradition for more than 80 years; something for ordinary folk like me to consider – if the popes, whose lives from sunup to sunset are focused on God, found such value in a retreat, it could only be good to follow in their footsteps.
The annual papal retreat was first instituted by Pope Pius XI in the 1920s. Soon after, he issued an encyclical promoting spiritual exercises for the entire Church, saying that “the most grave disease” of the modern age is lack of spiritual reflection.
Of course, it is unlikely that any of us will ever have the chance to “retreat” on the grounds of Castle Gandolfo, Italy, which has served as a papal retreat since the 17th century, but we are richly blessed by the number and uniqueness of retreat houses within the diocese, all offering a variety of retreat experiences to meet a variety of needs.
And if we fall back on the excuse that we just don’t have the time (which is a strong indicator that a retreat is needed!) we are reminded by the well-loved Trappist monk, Thomas Merton, of a place nearby which can serve as a time away, however brief, to sit and pray in the presence of God: “Let there always be quiet, dark churches in which man can take refuge. Places where they can kneel in silence. Houses of God filled with His silent presence.”
Mary Morrell serves as managing editor of The Monitor.
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