Experiments In Silence

It has been nearly a month since my last post. The fact that it has been that long should give you an idea of how those days have been - draining; full; intensive; not so much noisy but close to sensory overload. I have reached the second week in advent kind of punch drunk; dazed; needing some space. I have noticed again how visually and auditorily noisy our world is. Perhaps I notice it more in these shorter and darker days as shop windows try to entice us in to spend money in the lead up to Christmas, but also as more and more houses bejewel themselves with Christmas lights in these early days of Advent waiting. I have noticed again how that affects me. As a response, or perhaps an antidote to that, I am praying. I don't regularly say Prayer During the Day as Common Worship calls it, but a few times in recent days I have retreated to the safety and security of that liturgy and I have allowed the silence between the words to envelop me. Advent invites t...

Tonight, in lieu of the Evening Office I spent time in the presence of Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Exposition, Adoration and Benediction were never really part of my own personal piety, but since coming to serve in this parish, and having become a regular attendee of On Fire Mission's national conference , they have become increasingly important for me. Having now experienced the powerful and yet peaceful presence of Jesus in this way, I would not want to be in a situation where I couldn't again. There is a lovely story of the  Curé  d'Ars, St Jean Vianney. One day in his latter years, the priest noticed a peasant come into the church building and gaze for hours at Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. The saint asked him what he said to Jesus during all that time. The peasant replied, 'Nothing. I look at Him, and He looks at me.' There is something profound in that story. As we gaze at Jesus (whether that's in an icon or a stained glas...