Shhhh… Be Silent!

As we begin Holy Week, I asked myself, “What am I personally going to do different this year to make it a more fruitful celebration?” Many of you know, this is one of the busiest times in my life as a priest.  There is so much to prepare in terms of liturgy that I rarely find time to immerse myself into the Triduum – the Sacred Three Days.  

This year, I plan to have ample time to be silent.  I realized it is this “holy silence” when I find God working in my life, “cooking” something to surprise me.  It’s moments like these when God is even more present.  It is in silence when God speaks to me in the deepest recess of my heart telling me how much I mean to Him and how much He loves me.  Silence as Henri Nouwen puts it is the “furnace of transformation.”  

Someone once told me that the Church enters her moment of silence on Holy Saturday when no liturgy is permitted – no Sacrament is celebrated except that of viaticum.  The Church is silent because God is preparing something so great that the celebration of the Easter Vigil is called the Liturgy of ALL liturgies, the mother of all vigils.  This night God breaks that silence to proclaim His love for us in the resurrection of His Son.   

As the silence is broken, we hear the bells ring since we heard it last on Holy Thursday.  The Gloria is sung.  The lights are turned on to dispel the darkness of the night! Alleluia is once again sung proclaiming our faith. Christ has died! Christ is Risen!  

Friends, I believe we can truly celebrate the joy of the Triduum and understand what it means if we try to find some quiet time to ponder.  I invite all of us this Holy Week to enter into some “holy silence.”  Let go of anxiety, stress, fear, indifference, anger, disappointment.  Breathe the Spirit of God’s peace.  In these silent moments, remember these words: “Be still and know that I am here.”  Breathe and repeat saying those words until you relax in the presence of God.  And let God fill your heart.   

What am I going to do differently this year for Holy Week? Shhhhhh…. I’ll be quiet.