Over the past five or so weeks, I have been writing about silence in the Liturgy. I will continue with that theme today. It has been my intention to systematically go through the Liturgy and talk about moments of silence. Last week in covering this topic, I talked about silence through the silence that we will have at Communion time. This is the last week that I plan to write on this topic at this point.
There is one more moment of silence that we find in the Mass. The priest says or sings, “Let us pray.” There is a moment of silence here. It is not just the time for the server to get the book (Roman Missal); it is the time to recall the intention for which we are personally offering the Mass. I have been purposefully trying (although I forget easily enough) to pause a little longer after I have opened up the Roman Missal.
Now, all the silence in the Liturgy has come. These moments of silence are meant to slow us down, make us think about what we are doing. They are to bring us into relationship with God. Use the silence, if you don’t like the silence, tell God about it! Silence is a precious gift that can help us grow in our relationship with God. Right now in Confirmation Class we are discussing this very point of needing silence in our lives. Another great place to have silence is to come to Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (Adoration). It is a beautiful time for silence.
A final place we should have a little more silence (a couple of minutes) is after the Mass has finished. We should take some time to thank God for allowing us to be able to participate in the Mass. So I would encourage people to take time for silent prayer right after Mass is finished . Those that need to talk should wait, because we are working on the MOST IMPORTANT RELATIONSHIP, that is our relationship with God!
Fr. Thomas P. Galarneault