Anyone who missed Martin Scorsese's big-screen interpretation of Shusaku Endo's novel Silence hasn't had much of a wait for its video release. Having read the haunting novel several years ago, I jumped at the chance to experience the screen version when SILENCE appeared on the marquee of my small-town theater during Lent. I knew its dark … Continue reading Scorsese’s Silence: A Four-Question Examination of Conscience
Annie Dillard has long been one of my very favorite writers, with Pilgrim at Tinker Creek and An American Childhood among my most beloved books. Dillard leaves me alive and awake, grateful for each feather that falls beneath my back-yard juniper, for the sunrise glow illuminated through spring-snow icicles on the crab apple branches. For … Continue reading Annie Dillard: Silence and Speaking Stones
Wendell Berry--poet, novelist, lover of the land--distills life to its essence, teaching us to value the concrete beauty in the natural world and to question our innumerable ways of wasting days that could be filled with wonder. Wrestling with my own abundant speech and strong need for quiet contemplation, I am drawn to Berry's values … Continue reading The Silence: A Poem By Wendell Berry
"Mary's silence is admirable," notes the Navarre Bible's commentary on Matthew 1:19, in which Joseph, distressed and perplexed at the pregnancy of his betrothed, is told in a dream not to be afraid to marry her, "for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit." Apparently Mary's trust that God would take … Continue reading Pondering Silence and Exuberant Praise: The Example of Mary, Mother of God
"Christians have always held the man in fascination," writes theologian Scott Hahn in "Silent Knight, Holy Knight," a chapter in his book, Joy to the World: How Christ's Coming Changed Everything (and Still Does). "The New Testament begins by telling the events of salvation from his point of view. Some of history's greatest minds have … Continue reading St. Joseph, The Silent Knight
Taming the tongue is daunting, a seemingly impossible task for those of us who are naturally wordy. Several years ago I found hope in Paula Huston's book, The Holy Way: Practices for a Simple Life. Huston, a creative nonfiction teacher, National Endowment of the Arts Fellow and author of nine books, is obviously gifted with … Continue reading A Fellow Babbling Brook Learns to Tame Her Tongue
"If I were a physician, and if I were allowed to prescribe just one remedy for all the ills of the modern world, I would prescribe silence." When I consider that Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard wished he could prescribe silence in the 1800's, I'm overwhemed. I long for his "noisy" world compared to the one I … Continue reading Kierkegaard’s Remedy for the Modern World: Create Silence
Silence is golden. This proverb was first recorded in 1848, but it comes from a much older saying: Speech is silver, but silence is golden. We need silence to hear God's still, small voice. We need silent pauses in our conversation to allow another's voice to respond. We need silence to think, to reflect. Silence … Continue reading Silence. Golden.
A few weeks into the new year, I check the liturgical calendar for Ash Wednesday's date and begin pondering a focus for Lent. Though the Lenten season feels long and challenging, I've gradually come to love the season famous for “giving something up.” Why do I love Lent, with its penitential preparation for Holy Week … Continue reading An Invitation from a Babbling Brook: Focus on Speech and Silence
