I have been thinking a lot about silence during these days of Lent, and soberly realizing how little I have of it.

It’s not that my nuns and friends are particularly noisy or that I live in the midst of a bustling metropolis. It’s that I am surrounded by — and surround myself with — stuff, necessary stuff most of the time, but stuff nonetheless. Maybe it’s the pile of books that I am reading or mean to read, or the various gadgets that help me do my ministry, or the every handy smartphone with endless opportunities to engage stuff, or the many thoughts and projects on my plate. These and so many other things fill not only my day but my mind and heart, encroaching on that space of silence, of sheer nothingness, of God alone.

You might think (as many people do) that we Catholic sisters and nuns live a quiet, docile life of serenity in ceaseless communion with God and our neighbors. Not so. Even my friends who are contemplative nuns and hermits must contend with the noise of everyday life. Being a sister or nun does not exempt one from life (thank God for that!) or from having to develop a personal and communal sense of silence.

si·lence  (slns) n.

1. The condition or quality of being or keeping still and silent.

2. The absence of sound; stillness.

3. A period of time without speech or noise.

A wise nun got after me the other day for placing a bit too much emphasis on the “action” part of being a  “contemplative in action”. She was right. Too often we can get caught up in the stuff of everyday life — good stuff like ministry, outreach, caring for others, work responsibilities, recreation — and “feel bad” for taking time for just being still, being alone with ourselves. For me that also means being in a space of holy emptiness to receive God more fully.

I know this sounds crazy, but I am going to set an alarm on my handy smartphone app to call myself to stop, be still, and welcome the flood of nothing!

Lionel, a fellow Plurker, wrote this post on his blog Acid42 about the interplay of Noise and Silence … These Last Few Days… Leave Me Alone. It’s a thoughtful piece, and I encourage you to read it and offer your reflections on it.

No matter who we are or how we live, we have this dynamic of Noise and Silence in our lives. Some of us swing more to one end than to the other.

The Gospels are a great place to look to see how this dynamic plays out in the life of Jesus. Sometimes Jesus is in the midst of the crowds, other times alone in the wilderness. In both places — the Noise and the Silence — Jesus encounters God.

In the Noise … When Jesus goes to the Jordan River with John the Baptist and a crowd of people, John baptizes Jesus. The heavens open up and the voice of God resounds, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)

In the Silence … Right after his baptism, Jesus is led by God into the wilderness where he fasted and prayed for 40 days. (Matthew 4:1-2)