An Image Reflection for the Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent

STM's Assistant Chaplains and members of STM's staff will share an image and reflect on it each Saturday. This Saturday, Fr. Gerry Schmitz writes about encountering God in the sounds of silence while walking the Camino de Santiago de Compostela.

In May 2015, I walked a section of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela. At the outset, we were reminded that the Camino is not a race but a pilgrimage, a time to reflect on God’s presence in our lives as we journeyed to the Tomb of the Apostle St. James. It was suggested that you walk with a member of your group or with pilgrims you meet from other lands, and at times, to walk alone. While walking with others, you listened to each other’s stories; when walking alone, you listened to the sounds of nature and to the sounds of silence (not Simon and Garfunkel’s song). As you walked with others, you often heard how God was working in one’s life. As you walked in silence, you heard the sounds of God’s creation. There was wind rustling though trees, or a brook babbling, or rain hitting the trail, birds chirping and cows mooing. Then there were those times of total silence. Walking in total silence, you become aware of God’s presence in your life and you let God speak to you as you reflect on your own spiritual journey.  

Today’s Gospel begins with a discussion in the crowd about the identity of Jesus. Some said he “is truly the prophet.” Others said, “this is the Christ.” St. John recounts that a division occurred in the crowd and some wanted him arrested. When the guards reported to the chief priests and Pharisees, they were asked why they did not arrest Jesus. Their answer was “never has anyone spoken like this.” Obviously, they had been listening to Jesus speak and what they heard convinced them not to arrest him. What did they hear? While St. John does not tell us, we can posit that their listening to Jesus brought about a significant change in their lives. In a book titled, Praying with Saint John’s Gospel, various writers reflect on the chapters and verses of the Gospel. Father Timothy Bellamah, O.P., writes on this passage: “It is by his words to them that our Lord has changed them, and it is by their listening that they have been changed.” They have been changed by their listening!

The season of Lent is an opportunity for us to pray, fast and do works of charity in preparation for celebrating the Paschal Mystery. Often, the many distractions of daily life overpower our Lenten resolutions. It is a challenge to disconnect from our ear buds, our cellphones, the twenty-four-hour news cycle and the internet in order to listen to God. In his recent book, Learning to Pray, Father James Martin, S.J., has a section titled “Silence” in the chapter “Beginning a Friendship with God.” Fr. Martin writes, “You may have to disconnect in order to connect, to disconnect from the world of noise to connect with silence, in which God can speak to you in a different way. You cannot change our noisy world, but you can disconnect from it sometimes, to give yourself the gift of silence. Silence is one of the best ways to listen to God, not because God is not speaking to you during your noisy day, but because silence makes it easier for you to hear what God is saying.”

And in that silence, perhaps you will finally hear: “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:11).