Dear Friends,
Here in the formation center it is “ordinary time.” The seven new consecrated have arrived, the community is settling in and theology classes at the University of San Damaso have begun. The days are getting shorter, and the temperatures are dropping. The liturgy, the routine of daily life and even the weather invite us to live silence and recollection in a deeper way. As much as we desire to enter this season, it is always easier to evade the ordinary and find escapes in noise and distraction.
To help my community with this, I prepared a reflection based on our constitutions and rule about the use of social media and means of entertainment. We read and discussed five numbers from our proper law about prayer, interior life, asceticism, chastity and the use of means of communication, and we shared in small groups how we feel called to live this. Coming back together from our perseverance teams to the larger community, there was a common desire and renewed commitment to protect times and spaces for silence and solitude.
“Listening and meditation are nourished by silence. … A discovery of the importance of silence is one of the secrets of practicing contemplation and meditation. One drawback of a society dominated by technology and the mass media is the fact that silence becomes increasingly difficult to achieve” (St. John Paul II).
Perhaps this is a good time of year for all of us to listen to the gentle call of the Lord to renew our good habits of prayer and silence and to continue responding to the desires of our heart for greater depth and intimacy in our relationship with Him.
Yours in the heart of Christ,
Glory