IN SILENCE AND STILLNESS WE HEAR THE VOICE OF GOD CALLING

     I shall speak of thoughts which come when alone, uncluttered by the immediate, free from pressure, reflecting in the cool of the evening after the heat of the day. How difficult it is to make space to be silent and to find solitude to be still, and yet it is in silence and stillness that we hear the voice of God calling us to look for him in the world he has created and to listen to his speaking deep within. God is not in the hurricane, nor in the earthquake, nor in the fire, but in the sound of stillness (1 Kings 19).  

     To be silent and still is an art to be learned. It has its own discipline and difficulties, but the learning is essential, lest we be trapped in the purely secular and the material, escaping from the emptiness of the former by indulging in the attractions of the latter. True religion does not condemn what is material, nor does it fail to respect the laws of science, economics, medicine. It teaches that this world is good, that we are stewards of creation, and in cultivating its riches we work with the Creator, and ourselves grow – but a steward so easily becomes an exploiter and the perfection of the individual an end in itself. 

Reference: Basil Hume, Cardinal Hume: A Spiritual Companion, 74.

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