1 Kings 19

 

Elijah walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.  

There he came to cave, where the word of the Lord came to him, 

"Go outside and stand on the mountain before the Lord; the Lord will be passing by."  

 

A strong and heavy wind was rending the mountains 

and crushing rocks before the Lord - but the Lord was not in the wind.  

 

After the wind there was an earthquake - but the Lord was not in the earthquake.  

 

After the earthquake there was fire - but the Lord was not in the fire.  

 

After the fire there was a tiny whispering sound.  

 

 

Dear Community of Saint Joseph's;

 

Whenever I think of the voice of God I, like the prophet Elijah, expect that voice to be a large and powerful sound in the same style as an earthquake, fire or a mighty wind.  But in this passage from the Book of Kings we find that God speaks to the prophet in a whisper.  When you consider all the noisy factions attempting to get our attention it seems appropriate that God would choose the very opposite of what we might expect in order for us to listen.  

 

But in order to listen to a whisper one must be still, one must be quiet.  The Church asks us to incorporate silence into our liturgical celebrations in order that we might reflect profoundly upon certain significant moments.   "Silence should be observed at the designated times as part of the celebration.  Thus at the penitential rite and again after the invitation to prayer, all recollect themselves; at the conclusion of a reading or the homily, all meditate briefly on what has been heard; after communion, all praise God in silent prayer."  

General Instruction on the Roman Missal #23

 

Consequently you will notice that in the next few weeks we will begin to experience some silence during various parts of the liturgy where it might seem unusual.   You may have already noticed various moments of the liturgy where I am pausing in order to allow for quiet and reflection.  But in the next weeks you will experience a reflection time after each of the first two readings in the Liturgy of the Word.  This is not a glitch or a problem with the musicians.  We are waiting intentionally in order that the Word of God might be savored and reflected upon.  When we rush through these significant and important moments we risk missing the whisper of God's voice.  All this is not to indicate that the entire liturgy is intended to be a silent or monastic experience.  There are times in which great jubilation and excitement is encouraged.  So viewing the entire Eucharistic experience as a whole, you will see that it is a living organism filled with times of listening, responding, gesturing, reflecting and always celebrating.  We gather Sunday after Sunday to celebrate the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ who changed and continues to change our world every day.    

 

I am aware that for some people a good mass is a fast mass.  But I caution you against needing to hurry through something as vital as the Liturgy of the Eucharist.  I would encourage you to spend quiet time outside of the liturgy as well.  Stop talking and (even worse) dictating to God and just sit with God in silence and see if you don't hear something new, something unexpected, 

something that may change your life ...... 

in the whisper.

 

 

Father Matt Pennington

Pastor