Have you ever noticed how our society is so uncomfortable with silence?

We’re so accustomed to the noise around us that the instant we have some peace and quiet we want to throw on some music or call a friend just so we aren’t alone with our thoughts.

Have you ever stopped to wonder why? Why do we constantly feel like we need to distract ourselves from our own thoughts?

I believe it’s because silence makes our minds think and our hearts stir for what we actually long for. Silence points out all the things bothering us in our lives.

For many people, they don’t want to think about those things because they don’t know how to achieve them. They don’t know how to fix their problems. All they know is the more they’re alone with their thoughts, the more anxious or depressed they feel.

So why not just avoid silence altogether? Why not just block out our thoughts with noise and distractions?

The Problem with Noise

The problem with noise and the distractions of daily life are they prevent us from hearing the voice of God in our lives. Busyness, music and talking with friends are not bad things in and of themselves. However, if we use them as a distraction from silence, they can harm our souls.

St. Faustina, a Polish nun who had apparitions from Jesus throughout her life, once said,

“A talkative soul lacks both the essential virtues and intimacy with God. A deeper interior life, one of gentle peace and of that silence where the Lord dwells, is quite out of the question. A soul that has never tasted the sweetness of inner silence is a restless spirit which disturbs the silence of others.”

Another great saint and a doctor of the Church, St. John of the Cross, also spoke of silence when he said:

“What we need most in order to make progress is to be silent before this great God with our appetite and with our tongue, for the language He best hears is silent love.”

The language He best hears is silent love…

Noise is one of the leading problems why people in today’s society can’t hear the voice of God in their lives. How can God possibly speak if we never give Him a chance to?

It’s in the silence of our lives, in those moments where our thoughts creep in on us and we are tempted to distract ourselves, when God wants to reveal Himself. God wants to use the quiet times of life to show us His will and what is truly happening in our hearts. But we have to let Him. We have to confront our fears and learn to embrace the silence.

The Secret 

So how do we learn to be comfortable in silence? Just like anything else, we must practice!

I know for me personally, I’m really bad at being quiet. Even in prayer, I automatically start rattling off all the things on my mind and ask Jesus for everything I can think of. I pray rosaries, read scripture or just start praying for people on my mind.

While those are all great habits to get into, I’ve also realized I’m terrible at listening because I’m always talking so much. One of the hardest things for me to do is sit in adoration for an hour and just be with Jesus in silence.

Yet I’ve come to understand that’s all prayer should be sometimes. We don’t need to be talking all the time. One of the greatest forms of prayer we can offer Christ is just to be with Him. Not to speak, but just sit with Him.

Once I realized that, I got a lot better sitting in silence.

How to Practice Silence

One way I’ve recently started practicing silence is by getting to daily mass thirty minutes early and just sitting there. I’m exhausted after a long day of workouts and running around everywhere and don’t feel like talking, so I don’t. I simply let God wrap me up in His big loving fatherly arms and comfort me. Sometimes I close my eyes and drift off and other times I just stare up at the cross.

By practicing silence, I let God in. I allow myself to hear His voice if He wants to speak. If He doesn’t want to speak, then at least I’m spending time with Him.

Similar to other relationships in our lives, the amount of time we spend with someone shows how much we care for them. Jesus is no different. Just that simple act of making time for Christ is all He wants sometimes.

So my advice to you is to find areas in your life where you can cultivate silence. Maybe it’s on the drive to work or school where you can sit in silence rather than turn on the radio. Maybe it’s at night before you fall asleep. Maybe you can stop by church for fifteen minutes a day or attend daily mass.

By taking these opportunities to quiet our hearts from the noise and distractions of the world, we will be able to grow in our faith. Without that silence, it’s impossible to hear God’s voice. It’s impossible to grow.

So lets learn to quiet our hearts. To be still. To be countercultural and say no to the temptation to distract ourselves with noise.

Let’s embrace the silence.

From the depths of my soul, 

Josie